THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Fantasy and magic have always enticed Mahesh Keshav, a visual effects supervisor and compositor. And, directing movies for children is just an extension of that passion.
Mahesh, an active presence in the field for the last 15 years, has done visual effects in some popular Malayalam movies like Angry Babies, Shankaranum Mohananum, August 15, Kadhayile Nayika, Make Up Man, Nallavan and Sakudumbham Syamala.
Having started his career as a compositor in 1999, Mahesh started doing mythology series in 2005. “Mythology series was something I always wanted to do since we have very few in that genre in Malayalam, unlike Hindi. That’s how I did the mythology films in Malayalam.”
Mahesh has already brought out two films Mayapuri 3D and Ghost Villa wherein 90 per cent of the film was graphics. His film Mayapuri 3D was released in 2016 wherein the lead characters were played by four children Esther, Muhammed Ramzan, Adil Mohammed and Alfaz. An important character was also played by Kalabhavan Mani. Mahesh says, “Movies like Mayapuri 3D and Ghost Villa are set in a fantasy world. Children enjoy this as they live and experience their dream through them.”
Mayapuri, though did not become a hit in Malayalam, was much appreciated in Hindi and Tamil. However, not without challenges.
“The most challenging fact was that the technicians didn’t have any idea about visual effects. So I had to do a pre-visualisation to acquaint them with the medium before embarking on the shoot.” This visual effects supervisor has been continuously working on creating something for the audience, especially children. His next is Rojo 3D, which will be a mix of fantasy and magic.
The lead role will be played by Master Raghavan, a child artist who played an important role in Bhaskar Oru Rascal. It will be a Malayalam-Tamil movie. For the movie too, Mahesh plans to do a demo of the whole story before the shoot begins so as to save time. The movie is expected to be released during Christmas time.
On the lack of support in producing such movies in Malayalam, he says, “Not much support was given to 3D movies in Malayalam industry because of the heavy budget required. But, after Baahubali, everyone is trying a hand in such movies.”
He has also worked for animation films from outside Kerala, with Toonz Animation, before opening his own company Movie Myth.