She owns no cliched gimmickry you expect from a woman filmmaker. No prejudices, no reservations and absolutely no cynical understatements.
But Anjali Menon transforms to a soul possessed by the magic of cinema the moment she starts speaking about her films. She is equally passionate about her short films that took her to many a festival as well as her debut feature film ‘Manjadikuru’ that premiered at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) bagging awards in two coveted categories - FIPRESCI Award for Best Malayalam Film and Best Indian Debut Award.
Like the central character in her film she too had a childhood spent abroad looking forward to that ‘annual vacation which would be marked clearly on those Indian calendars hanging on foreign walls.’
“I was born in Kozhikode but grew up in Dubai and completed my studies in Kerala, Pune and London. Though settled in Mumbai for the past five years I visit Kerala very often. My family is in Kozhikode and I keep shuttling between the two places,” she says with a smile.
Anjali’s date with the arc lights was no accident.
It was a progression of her artistic inclinations that includes poetry, dance, music, drama and other art forms. “Cinema is a combo of them all. It was after MASCOM I joined London Film School. Being there was a great experience. There you need to have a practical orientation for everything.
It was during those days that I realised that writing and directing excited me more and that fiction was my stuff,” says Anjali who has been learning mohiniyattom and bharatanatyam for the past 14 years.
She started off with documentaries and short films and was resolute from the beginning to make her first feature film in Malayalam. “People told me it’s suicidal to make a film in Malayalam. But I was adamant. I thought since I belong to Kerala, I should start from here.”
‘Manjadikuru’ is the story of 10-year-old Vicky who returns to his village to attend the funeral of his grandpa.
The film is set in the 1970s when the migration to the Gulf countries started. The boy stays in the village till the 16-day-long rituals are completed.
During his stay something happens that shatters his innocent world and the way he perceives things.
“After some years the boy returns as a young man played by Prithvi Raj and he is the narrator. We used natural lighting and stuck to limited make-up among other things to create real life ambiance,” says Anjali.
She is the only lucky debutante who had many big names in the industry lining up behind her for her first film. Switzerland-based cinematographer Pietro Zuercher handled camera while Kavalam Narayana Panikkar wrote the lyrics and Ramesh Narayanan scored the music.
“’Manjadikkuru’ was the synergy of so many creative minds. I grew up watching legends like Kavalam and working with them was a different experience altogether.” The film had only one screening in Kerala so far as Anjali was busy taking it to a number of festivals after the IFFK.
“I was overwhelmed by the response the film got at the IFFK. We worked hard for the film and it has been a long ride not just for me but for the whole crew who invested their time and energy in it. We are planning to officially release the film in Kerala soon.”
Presently Anjali is part of a project initiated by Capital Theatres. She is one of the ten directors who will make 15-minute-long short films that will be later integrated into one singular project. The theme of the film is travel and all the parts are reflections on journeys in contemporary Kerala.
“When I made my first film everyone expected some potent feminist stuff. As a filmmaker I am not gender biased; but in this, I play up the male-female politics. Jagathy is the hero. The character will break his comic profile,” she says.
Lal Jose, Shaji Kailas, Anwar Rasheed, B Unnikrishnan, M Padmakumar, Shyama Prasad, Revathi, Uday Ananthan and Shankar Ramakrishnan are her co-directors for the film.