Filmmaker V.K. Prakash (a.k.a. VKP) sounds frazzled over the phone. “I’m in the middle of a shoot and I have been busy fielding calls all morning after the national awards were announced…,” he says. However, as one congratulates the filmmaker, his voice gains animation. The prolific filmmaker, who won a national award for best feature film in Malayalam for his debut film, Punaradhivasam , has now won another national award, for the best film on a social issue for Nirnayakam . “It is my 18th or 20th film. I haven’t been keeping count. As with each of my films, I have put in my all for Nirnayakam . ”
The film tackles the issue of freedom of movement during a large scale procession, told through the tale of a young achiever who gets stuck in a blockade and fails to get medical help. “I felt it was a relevant issue; something that needed to be addressed desperately but in a non-preachy way. There are several such people who have lost their lives because of such incidents.” Nirnayakam also won the Kerala State Award for Prem Prakash (best character actor) and Rajesh Nermara (best make-up man).
The filmmaker, who has experimented with various genres and themes, and has made films in Malayalam, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada and Hindi, says he does not make a movie with the thoughts of winning an award in mind. “I make movies for myself; to feed the passionate filmmaker in me. As for exploring genres, I think one would get bored if one were to make the same kind of films; it becomes repetitive for the movie goers as well,” says VKP, who is currently shooting for his next film Marubhoomiyile Aana, in Thrissur.
