THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At 10, he directed his first short film. At 13, his work won the most popular short film award at the National Children’s Film Festival. Bilahari S is 15 now, and is all set to direct his first feature film.
Bilahari says, “The themes we chose for our films have always had a message for the society. This time the story is weaved around an orphan child. A feature film can get our message across to more people. Moreover, we as artistes will get more exposure.”
The filmmaker will have to make do with a shoestring budget, as the only available producers of the film are the parents of three crew members. Bilahari’s father Sadasivan, who is one of the producers, is hopeful that in a couple of months the money for shooting can be arranged. He adds, “The camera rental would not cost as much as editing. With all these years’ experience, I think we will be able to cut down on the editing cost.”
Sadasivan is the vital force behind Bilahari’s creative pursuits. When the young filmmaker and his sister were even younger, the father would encourage them to participate in various cultural activities. The children started winning prizes. At the District Youth Festival-2013, Bilahari was the best actor. He has won prizes for monoact and Chakyarkoothu.
When Sadasivan saw that his children had a natural talent for acting, he would visit television producers to plead their case. It was when the TV dreams were taking too long to take off that a friend told him about short films.
Then Bilahari had just attended his first camp on filmmaking. With him at the helm, Sadasivan produced their first short film, ‘Kunju Basheerinte Swapnam Pole’. It won two awards at the State Children’s Film Festival. This encouraged the father-son duo to make three more short films.
A PWD official, Sadasivan would squeeze in time for theatre and writing short stories. The central themes of all four short films directed by Bilahari were conceived by his father.
Even though Sadasivan is the more experienced artiste, Bilahari has the final word on the choice of crew. He had connected with the best child artistes in the state, when he was participating at the state youth festivals. And he is ready to step out of his comfort zone and work with a new set of artistes each time.
Bilahari’s sister Darshana too has essayed important roles in the short films. She won the best scriptwriter’s award at the State Children’s Film Festival for ‘Anuvinte Vichinthanangal’. This was the film which won Bilahari his first national award. Darshana is now working on another script, independent of her brother’s projects.
Now the family is excited about the next project. Sadasivan says, “The feature film will lead to more recognition and collaborations with other artistes in the field.” Bilahari’s mother Geethakumari, though not as involved in the projects as the father, hopes the same.
