The mysterious woods teeming with flowers - a raw-yet-poetic image hinting at the ultimate uprising. Dr Biju’s Kaadu Pookunna Neram, a film that explores the Maoist issue, unravels in the deep wilderness of a nameless forest. “The film records the clash between authority and freedom, how oppression gets camouflaged as rules and laws,” says the director.
Kaadu Pookunna Neram follows two individuals, rather representatives of two systems and power structures. Indrajith appears as a cop, member of a special squad deployed to tackle Maoist insurgency. “He arrests a suspect, a woman radical played by Rima Kallingal. But at one point he realises that they are stranded and it’s impossible to come out of the labyrinthine forest without her help.” While the film mostly maps their journey, Prakash Bare, Indrans and Krishnan Balakrishnan are also part of the cast. While M J Radhakrishnan cranks the camera, Jayadevan Chakkadath is in charge of the sound.
Dr Biju says the film is inspired by a situation where authorities can easily arrest people invoking Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
“A lot of activists have been thrown behind the bars under UAPA. Gouri, a tribal girl who urged to boycott Assembly elections, was slapped with the same law and is languishing in jail for more than 200 days. Kaadu Pookunna Neram discusses the relevance and aftereffects of acts like UAPA,” says the director who will be soon leaving for Kazakhstan where Kaadu Pookunna Neram will be screened in the competition section of Eurasia International Film Festival.
The film, which also made it to the final list of India’s official Oscar list as the only Malayalam entry, had its premier at the Montreal World Film Festival. Kaadu Pookunna Neram, produced by Sophia Paul, under the banner of Weekend Blockbusters, is expected to hit screens by October.