Ever since their mother committed suicide, her hearing-impaired brother started being a problem. Nothing seemed right. When he was around, shards of glass were found in food. Someone always got hurt and blood splattered.
The doctor thought he was ‘normal’ like anyone else. But, their father believed he was deceptive and could even fool the doctor. Not even God could set him right. Nevertheless, she loved her brother and enjoyed having him around. Why?
‘Eka’, a short film by Anuj Ramachandran, introduces you to a dysfunctional family where a blood-curdling mystery lurks. Inspired by the story ‘I Hate it When my Brother Charlie Has to go Away’, Eka is intriguing and packs a lot of punch, all in just five minutes. Anuj says the short story haunted him for a long time and that he knew he needed to give it a visual interpretation.
“I Hate it When my Brother Charlie Has to go Away is hauntingly eerie. I was taken aback by its strength and when I decided to give it a visual interpretation, my biggest fear was whether I would be able to do justice to the original. That in itself was the most challenging part of ‘Eka’,” says Anuj.
Eka centres around a middle-class family in Kerala. “I wanted to keep it relatable. That explains the Malayali setting,” he adds. While Jayakrishnan, a cinematographer, plays the hearing-impaired brother, Meenakshi plays the sister. The slick editing and subtle acting adds an edge to this well-made work.
“’Eka’ takes final shape on the editing table. Hence, I wanted acting to be subtle and not overly dramatic. Jayakrishnan did a great job and the feedback proves that we have struck a chord with the audience,” says Anuj.While R R Vishnu cranks the camera, Rameez Mohammed’s background score and sound design add layers to the short film. ‘Eka’ is available on YouTube.