Gift, reminder of a new lease of life
KOCHI: Every year thousands of lives are lost due to organ failure. Providing a new lease of life to many and thereby living beyond one’s death, Organ donation is one of the noblest acts one can do in their lifetime. Young doctor Akhil Vijayan, through his short film ‘Gift’ is on a mission to spreadawareness on organ donation. This is the seventh film by the alumnus of Government Medical College, Kozhikode in the fantasy genre. It was officially released by actor Mohanlal on his social media page and former Health Minister K K Shailaja at her office. In a short span of time, the film has already gained traction online. What piqued the interest of many is the way the team infused the element of fantasy to convey the concept of organ donation. Akhil, who did the screenplay, direction and editing claims that experimenting with fantasy was not a cakewalk.
“Though I had the storyline in my mind for a long time, I was apprehensive to take it forward. With the release of my sixth short film, Dr Covid, I got a strong crew, including the actor Nirmal Palazhi. This gave me the courage to go ahead with Gift. Also, through the short film, I expect to clear the misinterpretations around organ donation and want to convey how the act of kindness can help someone start their life anew,” says Akhil.
The 31-minute-long short film revolves around the protagonist played by medical graduate and actor Dr Sam Christen who meets the dead soul of the character played by Nirmal Palazhi in a dream. The film also features the Great Indian Kitchen-fame Kabani Haridas in one of the prominent roles.
For Akhil, filming amid Covid restrictions and balancing his peer’s Covid duty shifts posed a challenge. “The medical students including myself who have worked on the film have completed house surgency. So, it was hard coordinating the schedules,” adds Akhil
The crew shot the fantasy scenes after recreating a forest like ambience inside a demolished space of an old library building at Keezhmadu, a few kilometers away from Kozhikode Medical College. “I edited the film as I wanted to bring in the exact fantasy elements I visualised in my mind while forming the storyline,” says Akhil. Singers Sachin Balu and Amritha Rajan rendered the soulful track composed by Rohit Krishnan. The lyrics were penned by Manu Manjith.