A bilingual title ‘Puka - The Killing Smoke’ is now trending on YouTube. Thirteen-year-old Sreehari Rajesh has come up with a short film which warns kids against the use of drugs. The 33-minute-long short film features Sreehari’s friend Aditya C Bose who plays the role of Jishnu. He is a 13-year-old kid who becomes a drug addict.
The short film was launched by IG P Vijayan the other day, in the presence of Sreehari’s friends, family and relatives. The screening was held as a part of Aaravam 2019, a vacation camp for children at Kadavanthara Police Station.
The short film aims at creating awareness among teenagers about the harmful effects of tobacco and drugs. “It is now a common tendency for young children to get addicted to such dangers at a very small age. As a teenager, I felt it my duty to help others stay away from drug abuse,” said Sreehari, a Class IX student of Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Eroor.
Sreehari has also played a role in the short film, which took him two months to complete. Apart from writing the story and directing the short film, he also did editing and cinematography. He had the support of his parents and some police officers who also played roles in the short film.
A native of Elamkulam, Sreehari has always been interested in working behind cameras since a young age.
The story, narrated from a teen’s point of view begins with Jishnu being persuaded by his friend Ambadi to use tobacco. Jishnu soon becomes a tobacco addict. Jishnu finally is saved by police officials and other authorities.
The short film has a clear message: Influence of bad friendships and lack of love and attention make one rely on drugs. It also highlights the police’s child-friendly activities to help victims de-addict themselves.
Sreehari had also made two other short films- ‘Cover’ (to raise awareness of proper waste disposal) and ‘Chatti’ (to show bad effects of plastics). Both of them were shot in a smartphone. ‘Puka - The Killing Smoke’ is his first short film to be shot using a professional camera.
“Instead of filming something random, I thought of doing something useful for the public which made me take up ‘awareness’ as the main theme in my work,” said Sreehari.
The young filmmaker wishes to continue his journey in filmmaking. Inspector General P Vijayan said measures will be taken to screen the film at various SPC camps and police camps.