KOCHI: Surya Sundar might just be a higher secondary school student, but he has to his credit a director’s tag. His movie Sakshi, officially launched at the Kairali Sree Nila Theatre recently, was appreciated by members of the film fraternity, including actor Mohanlal and director Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
The movie deals with the negative impact of alcohol and drugs on family and relationships and the growing violence against women. A Class XI student of Government HSS, Kulathur (Neyyattinkara), Surya was motivated to make the film after reading news reports on drug abuse as well as from his personal experiences. “I have witnessed the ill-effects of drugs. My plan is to screen the film in schools within the state, to educate children about the same,” says Surya.
The 90-minute short film is also among the four children’s films shortlisted for the Kerala State Film Awards. Wanting to direct a film of his own, Surya had first approached his parents with the idea. His father P S Shivanandan encouraged him to put his plan into action. “I have nurtured the idea of making a film for the past one year. After my parents gave me the go ahead, it took me around a month to finish all the pre-production work such as casting the actors and creating a script,” adds Surya
The cast of the film are Surya’s schoolmates. Anandu S R, a Class X, student plays the main role of the son in the family drama. Directing the film also gave Surya an opportunity to meet his favourite actor Mohanalal and he treasures the experience. “I had approached Lal sir through Vinod Guruvayoor who had worked with him in the movie Shikar. He gave his best wishes for the film during our short meeting,” says the young filmmaker.
According to his parents, Surya’s interest in film direction developed from his habit of compiling video clips on mobile phones. “Although he suffers from a learning disability that affects his academic performance, he has surprised us with his filmmaking skills,” said his mother Shobhana Shivanandan. The movie has been produced by his parents on a budget of around RS 10 lakh.