HYDERABAD: Mrithika Santoshini’s instagram bio mentions the word ‘artivist’. When asked about her connection with the word, she details the professional trajectory that marked the path to her debut directorial, Valari, starting from familial resistance. “Ever since my school days, I wanted to be a director. It took me a long time to get here because my parents did not come around so easily. I had a long journey leading up to my debut film. I have finished my MA in English literature, following which I have authored five books.”
Mentioning the themes of her books, which range from children’s rhymes to a collection of feminist quotes and a book of illustrations that reimagine the Vishnu dashavatara through a contemporary environmentalist lens, Mrithika notes that art and the written word have been her way of disseminating activism before cinema entered the picture.
A native of Coimbatore, Mrithika hails from a Telugu-origin family that has been a domicile of Tamil Nadu for generations. “My Telugu is so different, I am not sure locals would even consider it as Telugu. I improved upon my language over the years. I can even write an entire stanza in the language now.” says Mrithika.
Her bilingual connect has also paved the way for her first gig in the film industry. A contestant of the Naalaiya Iyakkunar (Tomorrow’s filmmakers) reality show on the Tamil primetime channel Kalaignar TV — where she competed as an aspiring filmmaker alongside the likes of Karthik Subbaraj and Nalan Kumaraswamy — Mrithika caught the attention of Krish Jagarlamudi from her stint in the show. As luck would have it, the filmmaker was on the lookout for a female assistant director who spoke Tamil, Telugu and English, as he was shooting for Vaanam (2011), a remake of his critically acclaimed hyperlink drama Vedam (2010).
“I remember coming to Ramoji Film City while shooting for Vaanam. It was the first time I was on an outdoor shoot. Who would’ve thought that they would be producing my first film?” quips Mrithika
The filmmaker is talking about Valari, her debut film, which recently premiered on the ETV Win OTT platform. The film, a horror entertainer starring Ritika Singh and Sriram, was a digital release. Did her Tamil connect play a role in casting Ritika and Sriram, who otherwise work predominantly in the neighboring industry?
Mrithika replies, “It is half true. I would say it is half true because I did previously approach Sriram sir for a film that did not materialise. We go way back. Also, these actors fit their roles perfectly. My male lead is an officer from the Navy. He should come off as both a romantic and a fatherly figure. I could not go with someone too boyish or too mature for the role. Needless to say, Sriram sir was a perfect fit. As far as the female lead is concerned, her character embodies shades of grey. If I would have taken anybody else, their face would invariably reflect virtue. Ritika is like water. No matter what role you put her in, she takes the shape of that role seamlessly.”
Mrithika cites veteran Horror showrunner Mike Flanagan as an inspiration towards veering towards horror for her maiden feature, despite a dislike towards the genre in her childhood. “There is a quote from his show A Haunting of the Hill House which goes like this. ‘A ghost could be of many things. It could be a daydream, a nightmare, a secret. Grief, anger, guilt. But in my experience, most times, they are just what we want to see.’ This single quote changed the way I look at horror and eventually helped me create Valari”, says Mrithika.
She continues, “I wanted to subvert cliches commonly associated with horror. There is no witchcraft, no magic spells, no cross hanging upside down or no rocking chair here (laughs). I strived to show ghosts as what they are, instead of branding them as outrightly evil.”
While reiterating that she would be comfortable with making her sophomore film in either Telugu or Tamil, Mrithika says, “I am working on my second script at the time. It should be over soon. Then I will figure out in which language I will do the project in. I don’t even mind working in Malayalam or Hindi (laughs). I would be more than happy to work in Telugu again, let’s see where the future takes me.”