An intense bond that blossoms between a septuagenarian and a seven-year-old-girl within a hospital premise - K N Sasidharan’s third outing Nayana that hits the screens soon has a unique subject. The movie, the second Malayalam outing of seasoned Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, promises to be a venture with a difference, says the award-winning director.
Sasidharan who has fetched many laurels for his debut outing Akkare and Kaanathaya Penkutti is back to the tinsel town after a long break.
Baby Anika (Sethulakshmi of 5 Sundarikal) plays Nayana, the title character of the movie. Prakash Bare, Mia, Siddique, V K Sreeraman Jagadeesh, Saju Kodiyan and Kalpana play the other characters.
Nayana is a family movie, says Sasidharan. He says, “Kamal Swaroop is a retired IAS officer from Jammu & Kashmir who is mourning the untimely death of his wife and son. The diplomat was a stringent officer till his family met with an accident. The man who has ophthalmic disorders reaches a hospital in Kerala where he meets the girl. The sober man finds his more humane side when he interacts with the child and the few days that he spends with Nayana changes his personality,” says Sasidharan.
The movie deals with several socially-relevant subjects, says the director. Female foeticide is an issue discussed. Sasidharan says, “Nayana is a child with a creative bend of mind. She loves to paint, but as the child with poor eye sight struggles to draw, it aches the heart of her mother. Nayana’s parents had aborted their earlier child, and the mother feels penitence for their past deed as she watches the girl.” Prakash Bare and Miya play Nayana’s parents.
Nayana also touches other pertinent issues. “The government’s double stance in the alcohol policy is also touched. Kerala is a state where even small children use terms like ‘quarter’, ‘small’ while intaking drinks,” says the director.
The recent fad towards television reality shows is also discussed. “While Nayana loves to pursue her dreams as an artist, her parents want her to try her hands in dancing so that she can participate in competitions. The rewards allure the parents to curb the natural instincts within the kids,” says Sasidharan.
Though the movie is set against the backdrop of a hospital, it is rich with humour, says Sasidharan. The director, who has also penned the script and lyrics of the film, says, “It is a entertainer with lots of situational comedies. The situations mostly happens within the hospital building.
The movie has two songs composed by Mohan Sithara and sung by K S Chithra and Jassie Gift.
Sasidharan, an alumnus of the Film and television Institute, Pune, ventured into movies through Akkare, an expatriate tale in 1984. The movie which was screened at several International Film Festivals was selected to Indian Panorama. Kaanathaya Penkutti came out next year, after which the director helmed many short films. Nayana produced and distributed by Sasidharan will reach the theatres on October 17th.