In Kerala, he has been a newsmaker outside the usual domains of politics, commerce and cinema.
The story of Vijayan, a tea-seller in Kochi, who saves money to go visiting dream destinations across the world along with his wife, has been much featured in newspapers, magazines and television. And, now, the story is also the subject of a short film titled ‘Invisible Wings’ directed by Hari M. Mohanan.
Hari has been travelling on a bicycle across south India showing the film, with English sub titles, in small halls and public venues and the response he says has been overwhelming.
“The universality in Vijayan’s story has helped audiences everywhere to instantly identify with the film,” says Hari.
The filmmaker has shot the 10-minute film (Copybook Films/Produced by Vijay V.) in conversational form and ends up spinning out not just an inspiring narrative but insights into the man’s value systems, attitude toward life and a worldview that one associates with great minds.
When the film was recently screened in Auroville, exemplar of a universal township, the appreciation was both hearty and instantaneous.
The film which opens with sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury’s quote (You’ve got to jump off the cliffs all the time and build wings on your way down) has a few worthy observations on life by the man who set up the modest Sree Balaji Coffee House in Kochi’s Kathrikadavu near Kadavanthra.
You cannot go to Kashi after all chores in your life are done or wait till the waters of the Ganges dry up to cross to the other side, says Vijayan in the film.
Vijayan has boarded flights to 16 dream destinations including the U.K., France, Egypt, Switzerland and Italy in the company of jet-setting millionaires, “who would deal in 100 or 500 dollar currency while I seldom had more than a bunch of five or 10-dollar notes.”
To those who mock that he is off his rocker, his comeback is: “Yes, I am a bit crazy…after all to each his oddity”; and to those who wonder if his future would not have been secure had he invested in real estate the Rs. 15 lakh he spent on travel, Vijayan would respond that the worth of the knowledge gained on his journeys outweighed all material possessions.
“The important lesson we learn from Vijayan is that it is possible to take care of familial responsibilities and achieve your dreams…and without cutting corners,” says Hari.
The largely crowd-sourced tribute was shot over repeated visits to the tea shop and hours of interactions with Vijayan. The audio comprising over 20 hours of recorded tape was condensed for a 10-minute film before the visuals were shot.
It took about two years and an investment of Rs. 19 lakh, largely borrowed from friends, to complete the project. The film emerged in its final shape from the editing console in January this year.
Since March 15, Hari has been on the roads cycling through Palakkad, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem and currently Chennai showing the film to groups of people at venues facilitated through friends.
“This cycling trip has been a life-changing experience,” he says of the wonderful people he met and the encouragement he has received from total strangers.
The film-maker says rather than sell the rights of the film, he would rather take the crowd-funding route and once costs have been recovered share it with the public free.
He also extended the 40-day tour initially planned to 60 days as he wants to make it a round trip that would cover Chennai, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Kozhikode, Kochi and further south to conclude at Kanyakumari.
Having been told that Vijayan and his wife planned to visit the U.S. in April, we decided to check out the couple’s Facebook page. And, sure enough, there were a few photo updates of the sexagenarian couple uploaded from Washington DC!
