THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: M Mohanan, the director of ‘Manikyakallu’ feels that the students and teachers today do not hold healthy relationships unlike in the olden days. ‘’Earlier, schooling started only at the age of five, but now the children are taken to the school at the age of three which normally calls for a better relationship between teachers and students. Unfortunately, we do not come across such beautiful student- teacher relationships these days,” said Mohanan. He was speaking at a news conference along with the crew of ‘Manikyakallu’ at the Press Club here on Tuesday.
‘Manikyakallu’, the new film from the director of ‘Katha Parayumbol’, tells the story of Vinayachandran, a teacher who comes to a government school in a village called Vannanmala and later builds up a strong relationship with his students.
Mohanan said that he had a dream of becoming a teacher when he was young, but later he realised that he won’t make a good teacher. ‘’Articles like ‘Chokkupodi’ and ‘Madhurachollu’ which tell the experience of teachers have also influenced me,’’ he said.
Talking about the inspiration for the film, he said that it was spurred by a personal experience. ‘’There is a school in my hometown which always produced deplorable results.
However, when I visited the school recently, the teachers had a completely different story to tell me. The school has been consistently producing enviable results which was the result of the sincere hard work of teachers and students who worked even on Saturdays and Sundays. ‘’The initial reports on my film show that my dreams of a teacher and his relationship with students were successful in conveying the message,’’ he said.
He added that he was particular about doing this film though he had to wait for an year. ‘’I knew that my film carried a good message and I was ready to wait to put that message across the audience,’’ he said.
Prithviraj, who plays the lead role in the movie, said his character and the backdrop of the film were true reflections of the society. ‘’The character Vinayachandran and Vannanmala government school soundly reflect many realities which are often ignored. I can say that this character is my best performance so far,’’ he said.
Samvritha Sunil, who plays the role of Chandini and Girish Lal, the producer of the film, also attended the news conference.