Ghouls of Malayalam folklore – eenam pechi , arukola , kuttichaathan , aana marutha , neet arukola and thendan come alive in the animated Malayalam short film, Kandittund (Seen It!) by Studio Eeksaurus released on YouTube.
From Pazhumadathil Narayana Panicker - Keshava Panicker’s tales we ‘learn’ that eenam pechi ventures out at precisely 2.30 am, aana marutha is a one-and-a-half foot elephant-like creature, arukola is a faceless shadow that touches neither sky nor earth, thendan has ‘protruding eyes’ that resemble areca nuts...Panicker has ‘seen’ most of these except arukola , which you cannot look at and kuttichaathan , who he has ‘seen’ only idols of. Thendan , he has seen only once.
The short is as much an ode to Studio Eeksaurus founder and animator Suresh Eriyat’s father, PNK Panicker’s highly embellished storytelling as it is an archive of Kerala’s urban legends.
“My father’s stories have some exaggeration, which makes them unique and bizarre. He makes stories of ghosts and ghouls believable, there is an explanation for these.” The narrators are Eriyat and his father, the video recording was made four years ago while on a family vacation in Maharashtra. It has been directed by newcomer Adithi Krishnadas.
“I have been trying to develop it in various forms, with my father in the footage. Adithi suggested that we ‘create’ my father, in an animated avatar as narrator,” Eriyat says. Each story, there are six, is entertaining, the film begins with Eriyat saying how, according to his father, ghosts have migrated due to the arrival of electricity as many of them were getting electrocuted.
Rather than work with live video footage, Adithi suggested that they work with animation to depict Eriyat’s father. “I have not met him in person but on viewing the footage I found he had subtle, interesting mannerisms. Although real footage has its charm, I felt we could turn him into an animated character, exaggerating the mannerisms and setting the film in a wild setting.” The resemblance between the character in the film and the real PNK Panicker is slight. “I used my imagination. For the other ‘characters’ I did not do so much research, it was all from the imagination. Not all ‘ghosts’ are described in detail.” From creating the storyboard to the drawings, Adithi was involved in every aspect, with help from others on the team.
Rather than use colour, the film sticks to a black and white palette which heightens the mood of ghosts and other-worldly presences. It resembles a graphic novel. Eriyat says, “Making it in black and white was an intentional decision: it was a difficult call. The creatures are nocturnal figments of the imagination. Fear mixes with darkness, naturally blending with the narrative. It conveys the richness of the environment and a feel of the space, making these spaces believable and giving it a unique look.”
- The film has won six awards — award of excellence and special mention at the Accolade Global Film Competition, best animation at the Short to the Point, Gold at Fantasia Film Festival and Digicon6 Asia, Satoshi Kon Award for excellence in animation, best animation at Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival and winner at the Swedish International Film Festival.
The intricate details of the drawings combined with Panicker’s narration gives life to the ghouls. The film has been a year and a half in the making, because of the number of drawings involved. “There are 30 drawings per second, multiply that by 12 minutes. That is a lot of drawings, multiple layers of it which took time. At one point we had a team of 20 people working on it,” he says.
Rather than nostalgia, Eriyat says the film gives cultural context to nostalgia. “The stories and legends are kept alive, the next generation can get to know these.”
His nonagenarian father felt emotional on watching the film, “because we made something on him. He is a government servant, not celebrated. Here we do that, celebrate his imagination and storytelling. He feels energised,” Eriyat says. He plans to bring this out in a graphic book form.
And are more ghosts coming?
“Oh yes! There are pending ghosts, comical and bizarre!” signs off Eriyat.
