Finally, a techie has emerged out of short film experiments to list a feature film to his credit. ‘Padmavyooham’, the directorial debut of Bijoy PI, a software engineer at SunTec in Technopark, hit theatres on Friday. Interestingly, the subject of the film is Sree Padmanbha Swamy Temple and its history.
Produced by a group of employees for Technopark under the banner Megawave Productions, ‘Padmavyooham’ unravels the myths surrounding the temple, its architecture and wealth. In the city, the film is being screened at Sri Vishakh theatre at 9 am.
The controversial subject had evoked criticism from the temple authorities, who approached the High Court and secured a ban last July. “They thought that the film was about temple wealth. We arranged screening for court, temple authorities as well as Marthanda Varma of the royal palace. They were convinced with the subject and subsequently the ban was lifted this month,” said Bijoy.
Bijoy, who handled the script, said he took 4-5 years on the research for the film. “The subject is 40 per cent fiction and 60 per cent fact. It tries to explore the mythical connection between the temple and the sea,” said Bijoy.
“The film says that the architecture of the temple is specially designed to get protection from enemies,” he added.
An 18-feet idol of Sree Padmanabha Swamy, created by art director Ajayan Kattungal, is a major attraction of the film. The film was shot at Alappuzha and Attingal palace. Debutant Noby Tharian plays Aditya Varma, lead character of the film.
‘Padmavyooham’ opens with a police probe into the death of a journalist, who investigates the complex defence mechanism of the temple. Following the death, Aditya Varma, the patron of the temple, sets out on an expedition to find out the truth.
The film has seven songs composed by debutant Sanjeev Krishnan. Sunil Kaimanam did the cinematography and Safdar Marva the editing for this 90-minute film.