A window on youth and drug abuse

Two sisters are working on a short-film with a cause

S. Syama and S. Silpa, students of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Cotton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram, with the audio CD on the short-film they are working on.

Two sisters from the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Cotton Hill, have come out with an audio CD, a prelude to the short-film they are working on. The film will explore the reasons for the increasing incidence of drug abuse and alcohol consumption among the youth.

Two years separates the two sisters but little else.

Both of them have succeeded academically but the love for film and the understanding that this medium is the best to reach people prompted them to produce, ‘Manalchithrangal’.

The audio CD was released by actor Madhu, during a function held at the Press Club here on Monday.

The older sibling S. Silpa won the 65 rank in the State medical examination and thus admission to the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, this year.

While she is responsible for the script, younger sister, S. Syama who achieved A+ in all subjects in the SSLC examination, directed the film.

When the hectic month of board and entrance tests concluded, they realised that the summer vacation of 2014 may be the last chance they would get to work together on this project – the idea for which was born when their father Shaji, who is an instructor at the GVHSS, Karakulam, took a session on parental guidance.

“We realised that over the past years, parents are preoccupied with work and children tend to be holed up in their rooms with their phones or laptops. This quietly creates rifts in the family, when there is so little interaction and limited quality time spent together,” explained Silpa, pointing out that this way, young students tend to be influenced by peer pressure or what they see in movies.

Twin responsibilities

The film she scripted follows the character – Shiny teacher, who has won ‘Best Teacher’ accolades but struggles as a parent. While most of the short film has been shot, it still remains to be edited.

Once the final product is ready, it will be screened to schoolchildren across the city in case the girls find it difficult to get the support of professional distributors.

Actor Madhu was all praise for the sisters, describing all the six songs that were released, to be of ‘professional quality’.

The veteran actor urged parents to refrain from forcing their offspring to focus only on studies, but also to wholeheartedly support their talent and interest in extra-curricular activities.