KOCHI: Finding a place to stay while pursuing a career or education is a hassle for many youngsters across the state. Convincing the house owners is a common issue faced by many. Young filmmaker Sharika Prasad portrays the struggles of two independent women who struggle to assuage the insecurities of their house owner in her 20-minute long Malayalam short film Thiriv.
The short was screened at the International Documentary and Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) in the Competition Campus category. Sharika is the lone woman filmmaker in the category and is making her debut at IDSFFK with her second short film.
The film shows the life of two women inside a rented single room in Kochi. Rithu played by Ansu Rachel Aniyan and Anju by Anju Kakkanattu go through the same issues that Sharika and her friends faced in their life.
“I have narrated some common struggles of women. It also shows how a woman is disturbed by the stares and frustrations of society. The scenes follow a conversational mode and is based on the instances many youngsters, especially women, face while staying at a PG or hostel,” says Sharika, a postgraduate from Sacred Hearts College in Thevara.
Sharika has also donned the hats of producer, screenplay, sound designer and editor for this short film.
“We have a collective, which includes my seniors from Sacred Hearts College who are in the process of a feature film making. We had to look for a for a space to live while we were reseaching about gender and LGBTQI+. That is when we also faced discrimination from home owners,” shares the filmmaker.
“When people hear that we might reach home late, around 9 pm, due to the filmmaking process, they raise their eyebrows as if we are doing some notorious crime. But the rules are not the same for men’s hostels or PGs. Like us, many women from college hostels too shared their experiences. This inspired me to write the script,” she adds.
The youngster says more than being a director, she loved the role of the editor. Sharika sees films as a medium to communicate her ideas to the public. These are reflected in the casual, fun conversations in the short film.
“Thiriv means taking a turn against the system and restrictions against women. After watching the film, many came up with their own interpretations. Some connected it to ‘verthirivu’, meaning discrimination,” Sharika says.
She adds that the fest was an overwhelming learning experience for her. When asked about including short films on OTT platforms, the fillmaker welcomes the idea. “It will help artists take their small budget projects to popular platforms, apart from YouTube,” she concludes.