KOCHI: Penned by Ayyappa Paniker, Video Maranam is a piece dripping black humour and sarcasm. It comes in the form of a letter from an expatriate son, where he asks his brother to videograph the death of their mother. He reminds his brother to get all the specifics right, so that he can screen it in front of his US friends.
Amma Oru Drishya Virunnu, Nanda Kumar Menon’s nine-minute short film, is inspired by this letter ridiculing Malayalees insensitivity and upstart attitude. “It’s not a visual adaptation of Video Maranam, but a work drawing heavily from the crux of it. The film is woven around the situation mentioned in the letter,” said the director.
In the film an elderly women lies half-conscious while her son is busy capturing her last moments. “Video Maranam was published in the late 90’s as part of the collection titled Anchu Kroora Kavithakal. During that time, videography was a rage with people filming all special events in their lives,” he said. The film has Shoby Thilakan appearing in the lead role along with Raji Parameswaran, Sarswathy Rajan, Sreerag, Subha Bhat and Unnikrishnan.
The son says his friends have seen Indian weddings, honeymoon, divorce, sati, but not a funeral. “He wants the ‘death-cum-funeral’ complete with the mother breathing her last followed by all the rites. He is planning to name it ‘The Last Moments of an Indian Mother’ and show it to his friends during Christmas. He even asks his mother to somehow manage to die before that,” he says.
In Amma Oru Drishya Virunnu it’s the grandchildren who come forward making their parents realise their mistake. “Here is a son who neglects his mother and is keen on filming her last moments for his brother settled abroad. He is waiting for her to die, but she is brought back to life by his son who loves his granny,” he adds.
He says the short film was made as a tribute to motherhood, to convey a strong message. “The film deals with a very relevant theme. In today’s generation there are many children who doesn’t understand the value of relationships, who are willing to send their parents to old age homes. But there comes a moment in their lives when they realise a mother’s love is priceless. I hope Amma Oru Drishya Virunnu is a real eye-opener,” he says.