The short film FM is not about radio but about a group of ‘faceless men’. The 11-minute film written and directed by Manoj Varghese Parecattil narrates the tale of people who are not known by their faces, but by their legs and hands. The film with a social message advocates that everyone should eke out a living by striving hard. The debut outing of Manoj hailing from Angamaly has become a hit and has already garnered 17 awards within six months.
The unique feature of the film is the absence of even a single face. There are 40 legs and hands that act to communicate with the viewers. “I was inspired by a cobbler in the street, and started to think from his own point of view. He was sitting in a tent and was able to see the legs of pedestrians only. From this thread, I developed the base of my film,” says Manoj about his experimental venture. The director says he wanted to try out something novel while wielding the megaphone. It took him a month to write the story and screenplay.
“With the support of facial expressions, actors can easily manage the scenes, but it was a difficult task to direct something where legs and hands are the only parts that performs on screen. But all the 40 artists have done well and we were able to complete the shoot within two days,” says Manoj.
The key role was played by Sajay Kumar who lost his hands by birth and is managing his daily life with the help of his legs. His performance with legs is indeed appreciable.
The director reveals that his friendship circuit made the film possible. “The background score was done in Mumbai with the help of Bibin Dev, a Bollywood sound mixer and my friend. The estimated budget was `2 lakhs. But we were able to wrap up the film effectively with the help of friends,” he says.
Faceless Men has been receiving acclaim from all corners. It won four awards in the Anthikad Kerala Film Festival. The film was also screened at Frame International Film Festival held at Mumbai and received the award for best short film. The film has also received many state, national and international awards for best film, best director, best editor and best cinematographer.
The team behind the film got appreciation from prominent personalities from the film industry. “After watching the short film, directors like Sathyan Anthikad, Sibi Malayil and Priyanandan appreciated us,” reveals a beaming Manoj.
Manoj is an MBA holder by profession but has always nurtured his dream to enter the world of cinema. “It was Jain Joseph, the director of Neo film school, without whose support this film would not have happened,” says Manoj who aspires to do a feature film in the future.
Presently he is working as an assistant director for the film ‘Ithihasa’ directed by Binu S.
Sinoj Ayyappan cranked the camera for the film, while Jovin John is the editor. Dinesh RLV is the art director. The short film produced by Michael John was released on December 3. It is dedicated to the handicapped people all over the world, says Manoj who plans to take the outing to more festivals.
