Kaliyachan was the result of Farook Abdulrahiman’s efforts for 12 years. Little could the debutant director have imagined that it would take another three years for the film, which won a national award and two State awards, to reach cinemas.
Now, there is light at the end of the tunnel, with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), which produced the film, finally agreeing to release it in August.
Farook had made as many as 86,000 people write to the NFDC, requesting its release. “I had been trying to convince NFDC officials about the need of releasing Kaliyachan , but nothing happened,” says the Palakkad-based director.
“They replied to emails from all those people – who were my friends and their friends besides those from films – and promised that they would release the film in August.”
Kaliyachan , based on P. Kunhiraman’s poem bearing the same title, had won State awards for Manoj K. Jayan (second best actor) and Bijibal (background music). Bijibal also won the national award.
The film, though, has already been screened on a few occasions, such as the International Film Festival of Kerala in 2013.
“It could have been released that year, and that was the time when every film could fetch a decent amount from television channels, so the NFDC could have recovered the cost of the film,” says Farook.
“I am happy though that my film will finally be released. What is the point in making a film if it does not reach the viewer?”
P.K. Ajith Kumar
