KOCHI: Award-winning director Shiny Jacob Benjamin is all candid as she discusses her latest documentary film Sword of Liberty, the Life and Death of Velu Thambi Dalawa. The legendary fighter’s film will have its premiere at 9:45 am today at Kalabhavan Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram.
Shiny says that when producer R C Suresh approached her with this project, she was quite uncertain in the beginning. She had no confidence to take up a historical subject such as this. Also, as a filmmaker, she thought of the visual scope which was very narrow. “I was not sure about the kind of visuals that will make up a quality film. But in the end, after months of research and travel, the project took shape and our efforts paid off,” she adds.
The director had recently won her third National Award and eighth State Award with this film.
The film traces the life of famous freedom fighter and leader of Travancore Velu Thampi Dalawa who is believed to have killed himself at the age of 44. While most of the people are familiar with his name, very few are aware of the history. How he went on to become one of the most celebrated leaders of Travancore is discussed in the documentary. The plot follows the journey of protagonist Devaki, who sets out in search of the truth behind the life and death of the Dalawa. The film used several indigenous art forms such as tholpavakoothu, villupattu and forms of thullal to narrate the tale giving it a unique flavour in the contemporary times.
Shiny who started her career as a journalist later shifted her attention to making documentary films. Her prominent works include Translated Lives (which narrates the stories of groups of young Malayali women, who trained in Germany as nurses), Ottayal (which focus on social activist Dayabai’s life) along with many others.