In a celluloid rendition of Kureeppuzha Sreekumar’s award winning poem Penangunni, Manoj Chandrasekharan laments the fading of mother tongue from our children’s lives. His 3D feature film, Penangunni is an adventurous journey through the rich literary lands of Malayalam to unearth its core essence. The film screened recently at the capital city was a one-of-a-kind experience to the audience.
“Penangunni, is a famous children’s poem by Kureeppuzha Sreekumar, which won the Balasahithya Award in 2003. The poem is quite relevant today as it talks about the extinction of mother tongue not only Malayalam but also every other language belonging to a particular region due to external elements’ influence. It also deals with losing one’s identity and belongings in the due course,” says Manoj, the director of the film.
Penangunni, is a launching pad for many artistes aincluding the director and the producer. This directorial debut of Manoj was produced by Venkit Mahadevan, who helms the production company Egograph.
“This is our first production venture. We are planning to contribute much to the society through many such ventures. We have tried to include as many children as possible in the project, hence the script is written by children,” says Venkit.
The newcomers Abhijit Sanal and Vaishnavi emulate the role of main protagonists, the two orphans who set about in search of their lost parrot. The parrot symbolises the long lost mother tongue, Malayalam. It is through the alleyways of our rich and vivid language that they make the journey to find their friend. The screenplay and dialogues are written by some school children, Abhinu,Yadu and Sudhanya, who won the scriptwriting contest conducted at their school. Raj Kumarapuram scores the background music for the movie. The film to be released all over Kerala on August 2 is hoping to capture the hearts of children with its vivid story telling method.