One more Malayalam actor has stepped behind the camera, albeit with a short film, an impressive one at that. Renjit Shekar Nair, who starred in Ottamuri Velicham, Dakini, and Marakkar, has made a humorous 13-minute short titled Keedanu, about discord in a young couple’s marital life when the husband’s obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) spirals out of control. Renjit plays the husband while newcomer Dona plays the wife.
Directing under the name RSN, Renjit made it to get an idea of the process that goes on behind the camera. “I remember an anecdote of Nadirsha where he said that Dileep starting out as an assistant director helped him a great deal, with respect to facing the camera and the right angle and whatnot,” says Renjit.
“Being an actor, we normally just come in with an idea of the story, do our job, and step aside. We don’t think of anything beyond that. So I decided to get some first-hand experience on the other side.”
Renjit shot the film on weekends, with some gaps in between. He wanted to do a fresh OCD-themed story that nobody has done before. He didn’t want it to look like a documentary either.
For content, he spoke to a lot of people, especially some husbands and wives who told him that they realised they have OCD only after getting married.
“It was a big realisation. It’s true, you know. When we are by ourselves, we are not too conscious about it. It’s when we share our life with someone that we start paying attention to it. I think everyone has OCD to a minimum degree,” he laughs.
“In the olden days, it was a pre-defined thing. Whatever the husband does, the woman has to get adjusted to it. Now things have changed; they’re independent. I wanted to represent a bunch of such people in Keedanu.”
There was also another intention behind Renjit’s foray into direction. He wanted to bring in and encourage a group of assistant technicians who have worked in his previous films.
“These guys have major aspirations, and such short films are opportunities to hone their skills,” he says, adding, “Not only can one showcase their creativity but also learn management skills.” Scripted by Abhijith, Keedanu was shot by Jayakrishnan Vijayan and edited by Shaijas KM. Vishnu PC handled the sound mixing.