KOCHI: Social distancing may be the new norm to beat the COVID-19 pandemic, but for some, it is still a difficult rule to abide by. Kaliyottam, a short film by the staff of Kerala University is a satire on social distancing which also endeavours to educate the viewer on the risks involved if the guideline is broken.
Scripted and conceptualised by Santhosh Venjaramoodu, the 10-minute film has been filmed entirely on the Kerala University campus complying with the COVID-19 protocol.
According to Santhosh, the pandemic has left sports and games organisers with very limited options. “The short film treads this storyline,” he says.
The film opens with the members of a club deciding on what games can be held as part of the Onam celebrations. This time they are left with very little choice owing to the social distancing norms. However, the members are adamant that their annual game of cricket be played this year too,” he says.
“Finally, the cricket match is held with players told to sanitise their hands before catching each ball. The game, however, proves risky as a wicketkeeper tests positive and the remaining players are told to go under quarantine,” says Santhosh.
The short film has been edited by Kailash S Bhavan while Ashik Babu wields the camera. The short film has been produced under the banner of Dhamani, the arts and cultural organisation of Kerala University employees. As many as 25 staffers acted in the short film which was shot in just two weeks.
Sandhya Rani V S, Aruna Gopalakrishnan, Femin Sajeeb, Giriprasad S, Anil Kumar D, Siddik R, Sreejith K G, Shijo I Thomas, Nithin Nagesh, Saju S, Ajulal P L, Nithin G S, Ahammed Sherin R S, John V W, Nisanth K S, Anandhu R G, Kiran Sebastian, Sivaprasad M S, Vishnu prasad, Manu Satheesh, Satheesh Babu, Anandhu S, Saran S S and Kannan were cast in the film. Log on to Dhamani’s Facebook page to view the short film.