Young filmmaker Akhil K Uday is particular about raising his voice against social issues. The Alappuzha-native, who is now pursuing his post-graduation in direction at LV Prasad Film and TV Academy, Chennai, has released his new short film titled ‘Kaambh’, which throws light on colourism and body shaming. The 10-minute-long short film was released by Behindwoods Ice on their YouTube channel.
Kaambh was conceived by Akhil as part of his academic project but has over a million viewers now. Elated by the reception for his debut movie he said the story is inspired by his childhood experiences. “My parents were employed in Arunachal Pradesh, so I completed my high school, there. I faced discrimination from my classmates based on the colour of my skin.
Though I didn’t give an ear to it, I came to know many of my friends went through similar problems. One of my friends told me how she was removed from a dance group only because of her dark skin tone. When I had to come up with a film project, the bitter experiences of my friends triggered me to draft a script based on it,” he says.
The script focuses on the trauma people experience when they are discriminated against. “People are mocked for having thick or thin eyebrows, being fat or thin and even having dental braces. If a small child is pulled up in front of other children for his or her looks or skin colour by a teacher, even as a joke, it passes the wrong message to a generation,” he says. Before joining filmmaking, I attended the civil service examination twice. I am well aware of the social issues around us. These appear unintentionally in my scripts,” he concludes.