The project is a short fiction film based on a poem in Malayalam and shot in Kerala. I decided to write about a girl who hates a poem, but still explores it. Slowly, this girl shapes up into someone whose life is about to take a new turn. In the film, she realises what we might call “worldly” truths. She lives in a society of customs and regulations that she cannot abide by. In the end, she breaks them knowingly or unknowingly.
The story proposed to me a green village, an old Malayalam medium school, a village temple, and paddy fields. Thus, an 11:36 second short film based on ‘Mampazham’ (The Mango) was executed.
The characters were studied, understood and created. From this, the story was derived and was scripted. In the search for a child, I met someone who got his daughter, Samira, ready for the complex nature of a shoot. We had rehearsal sessions during May and June with Samira where she learned the dialogues by heart. By the end of the month, she was comfortable enough with the script and I had convinced her family to come along for the shoot. After a detailed pre-production session, it was executed in a two day shoot on video.
The experience of making a film is something I feel no one can put into words because it is beyond logic. My friends have been involved in my script and dialogues so many times that I cannot ignore their contribution to this film. Thus, again this film has made me believe that films are a result of friendship.
