THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the screen of Nila theatre flickered to life for the second screening of ‘Maramkothi’ on Friday, there was a special guest among the audience. Along with the cast and crew members sat Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan, who was there to watch the film that portrays a socially relevant theme.
Directed by Babu Thomas, the movie traces the travails of those who were ousted from their lands during the large-scale migration witnessed in post-independence Kerala.
The film recreates the massive migration in search of cheap and fertile land that started in the 1950s and continued till the 1980s. But when settlers arrived in large groups and started cultivation in the hilly areas, the people who originally belonged there were driven off. “There are so many books and films that talk about the life of settlers and how they tamed the wilderness, making it hospitable. But ‘Maramkothi’ tries to sketch the life of evictees who lost their land in the process. It’s about some lives who are destined to live like refugees in their own land,” says the director.
A period film set in the 1970s, ‘Maramkothi’ stars Sreejith Ravi and Poojitha Menon in the lead roles.
The film chronicles a time when man’s relation with nature turned sour, as it changed to exploitation from harmony and oneness. “We did a lot of research on the ecology of Idukki during the 1970s and the lifestyle of the tribes who lived there before the shoot started,” says the director.
Babu Thomas says his will be a breather at a time when majority of films deal with glitzy and superficial themes. “’Maramkothi’ is a film that adopts a realistic treatment and will flaunt a totally different craft amidst the throng of new-gen films,” he says.
Sreejith Ravi plays the title character who lives in sync with nature. “I don’t have a name in the film,” says the actor.
Aleena, Indrans, Mamukoya, Kulappulli Leela and Kochu Preman are also part of the cast. The film is produced by Francis Christi Boy under the banner of Woodpecker Productions.