S analkumar Sasidharan has touched a new high with the release of his maiden feature film Oraalppokkam, which reaches theatres today. Each milestone in Sanal’s cinematic journey was not reached without overcoming hurdles but the passionate cinephile managed to surmount the obstacles with the help of friends and movie buffs.
Produced by Kazhcha film forum, Oraalppokkam was completed in August 2014 and won several awards in different categories. Perhaps the first Malayalam film to be crowd funded on the Internet, its cast included Prakash Bare, Meena Kandasami, Tariq Ahmed, Bikramjit Gupta, Krishnan Balakrishnan and Venkitesh Ramakrishnan.
Excerpts from an interview with the independent filmmaker who notched many firsts to his credit with the making and release of his film, which aims at exploring perceptions of images – of ourselves and others. By blurring myth, reality and fantasy, the filmmaker subtly paints a picture of man and his myriad ties with nature during his journey in life.
You must walking in the clouds with the release ofOraalppokkam…
I am thrilled that my film is getting a release like other big ventures. It is a significant moment for independent filmmakers in Malayalam. Kerala State Development Corporation’s bold step in giving us screens to release our movie can only augur well for cinema in Kerala. Once they opened the doors to independent filmmakers, many viewers were able to see different kinds of movies and it proved that such parallel films have an audience.
This warm welcome comes as a shot in the arm for new film directors who want to buck the trend and make movies that come from the heart.
Critically–acclaimedOraalppokkamhas broken many of the concepts that is associated with fimmaking nowadays. Do you see this as the beginning of a trend?
I hope it is. About 30 of us in the team that made Oraalppokkam are newbies. We did not have a big budget or any technical gimmicks to woo the viewers. What we did have enthusiasm and the support of a large network of friends and media persons who ensured that the film was seen, enjoyed and evaluated in the right spirit. The crowd-funded film did not have any big backers but thousands of well-wishers demonstrated that there is room for independent films. Moreover, there is a feeling that a film must have certain elements such as big stars, rocking music etc. to conquer the box office. Even without compromising on the story or making, we were able to reach out to our viewers. That is what is heartening about the success of the film.
The ‘Cinemavandi’ was a novel attempt to screen the film all around Kerala. What was the response like?
It was a success in all the 100 places that we screened the film. Taking a leaf from the travelling talkies of yore, we took the film to the viewers and screened it in colleges, libraries, public spaces and so on all over Kerala, right from Parassala to Kasaragod.
Inspired by the success of the Cinemavandi, groups of cine buffs in Australia and Ireland also organised screenings of the movie. In fact, a group of non-resident Keralites in Sydney have formed a group and made a short film. They are also screening films regularly. These are the after effects of Oraalppokkam .
What is your next venture? Will it be a trailblazer too?
I have already finished the shooting of my second film, Ozhivudivasathe Kali , which is based on R. Unni’s eponymous story. It is a trailblazer as we did not have a script when we began the shooting.
The cast has mainly newcomers. Theatre person Abhija is the only experienced actress. We had a six-page scenario and we began the shoot with that. All the dialogues were created by the actors during the shooting of the film at Peppara. Experimentation and the confidence to go think outside the box will help young filmmakers to make a mark.
Even our technicians were new to cinema. Small and independent filmmakers like us have managed to get noticed at the box office too and that is a positive step for Malayalam cinema. I must thank the government and the media for their enthusiasm in promoting such bold ventures that do not fit into the idea of ‘popular cinema’.
