P ookal Paranja Katha (What The Flowers Said) may not be tagged as a classic in Indian film industry, but it takes a welcome step towards ‘people’s cinema.’ K.A. Nandajan was roped in by the Mathur panchayat in Palakkad to make the feature film. The two-hour-long film was completed at a cost of less than Rs. 4 lakh.
Shot in January 2013, it is set to hit theatres soon. Nandajan admits that it has not been easy to produce a film and secure certification from the censor board without the support of establishments in the film industry.
Pookkal Paranja Katha is the name of a book published by school students in Mathur panchayat in 2012. The panchayat wanted to turn the book into a short film. Nandajan, however, encouraged the panchayat to turn it into a feature film. Students in the government and aided schools in the panchayat were given an orientation in filmmaking through workshops and entrusted with key responsibilities. Dev Anp cranked the camera.
All the child artistes in the film were students who had no previous experience in acting. “Whatever money we get from screening the film in cinemas will be shared with those who participated in the venture on a revenue sharing mode,” says Nandajan.
The film deviates from the conventions of the industry in the way the theme has been treated. The theme revolves around negativism instilled in the minds of children by parents and also the changing attitudes of children towards their parents. Three different stories – ‘Nandan’, ‘Thumbi’ and ‘Sandra’ – written by Jayakanthan, Anaswara, and Sasikumar Kottayi respectively – are woven together in a manner that touch the audience. Jayakanthan has written the screen plays.
While ‘Nandan’ and ‘Sandra’ portray how mothers can lead children astray with their high expectations, ‘Thumbi’ looks at the attitude of children towards the dignity of labour. In ‘Nandan’, the child’s mother realises too late that asking her child to imbibe Vishwanathan’s attitude towards money, was not a wise decision. Vishwanathan, a character in the movie, is obsessed with making money. However, he fails to look after his mother.
In ‘Sandra’, the mother fails to understand her daughter’s passion for Nature. Kesavan, a toddy tapper in ‘Thumbi’, is devastated when his daughter introduces him as a servant to her friends. All three stories end on a tragic note.
Among the three stories, the performances by Sunitha Nedungadi (as Radha in ‘Nandan’), Murali Mangili (as Viswanathan in ‘Nandan’), Sivadasan (as Kesavan in ‘Thumbi’), Sandhya Krishna and Sraddha (as Smitha and Sandra in ‘Sandra’) stand out.
