Although Megha Priya Sunil is more fond of thriller and mystery films, her début Malayalam short film, Megha , falls in a totally different genre.
The film, scripted, directed and edited by her, is about a young girl who ignores the naysayers and achieves her dream of becoming an astronaut. The 15-minute movie, shot entirely in Thiruvananthapuram, was released on YouTube on April 8 and has garnered over 7,120 views and counting.
Megha Priya Sunil
“Making a short film of my own has been a dream of mine. As I found my daily routine monotonous, I decided to finally act upon a story thread I had in mind,” says Megha Priya, a second-year journalism student at Mar Ivanios College.
After turning the idea into a script, she read it out to Anathakrishnan Prakash, a friend of hers, who agreed to do the cinematography. Megha, who acted in Transition , a short film by Krishnanunni Mangalath, and Sir, Oru Additional Sheet by Keerthan Dinesh, says that most of the cast for Megha were from Transition , while the crew were students from her college. “It may be an amateur team and I am lucky that my dad, CK Sunil, who is supportive of my goals in life, agreed to produce the film. The movie was shot over three weekends with a budget of ₹8,000.”
Saranga H (as the young Megha) and Krishna Kanth in a scene from the short film Megha
As she has no prior experience in editing, Megha Priya learned from various online tutorials and her seniors at college. “A reason why I wanted to make a short film is because I want to become a film editor. I am fascinated by how an editor takes raw footages and splices them together to create a beautiful film. The editing world is still an all-male bastion with a just a handful of women in the field. I hope to change that. Megha is for people who dare to dream big and I hope they will be inspired by my film. For, if a village girl can one day walk on the moon, anyone can realise their goal in life if they put their heart and soul into it,” says the 20-year-old.
Megha Priya is currently posting small videos on her daily routine during this lockdown period on Instagram.
