Student films are often a result of tireless effort and a battle against odds. With a limited budget to begin with, students, who set out to make their own short films out of sheer love for the craft, are however prepared to gladly confront any obstacle that comes their way.
Dwarakhanath, a final year Visual Communication student of Madras Christian College, is the latest to join this tribe. Ten months after he wrote the story of his short film, Maalai Neram, it finally saw the light of day on Saturday, April 23, when it was premiered to a packed audience at the AVM Studios’ preview theatre.
A humourous story about a short school girl who finds herself madly charmed by a much taller, older man, and how she pursues him, the storyline, informs Dwaraknath, began on a very different note. “Initially, it was supposed to portray the relationship between a short girl, a tall guy and another girl who is taller than him — three extremes. But midway through the shoot, we faced a number of unexpected problems including unfavourable climate and exceeding expenses, and could not shoot the other plot of the film,” he says.
Though the scripting of the film took only around five hours, it took almost eight months to start work on it, owing to problems that sprung up during the production and post-production phases. “With the intent of bringing out the film at any cost, I had to rack my brain to develop a story with the available footage. Work went on for days and nights and finally we completed the film, which I feel is good and convincing.”
Zeroing-in on the cast — Saranya Rajendran, (an MA student) and Nischala Krishna (Mass Communication graduate from MCC trying his hand at films) — too took a lot of time, says Dwaraknath. “Krishna was tailor-made for the role and Saranya fit into her character, which is a far cry from her real life one.” The melodic and upbeat music of the film by Mohammed Javed, remains its biggest strength. Also a part of this young crew are Anbu Stalin, the cinematographer and Venkatesh, the editor.
The screening at the AVM preview theatre was attended by the young, independent film community in Chennai, most of them Dwaraknath’s friends and well-wishers. Also present were producers Narayanan (Kaleeswari productions), Raman (R productions) and Shankar (G company). Three shows were screened.
(To contact the director call 9840458459)