Watching the short film The Secret Messengers is like a journey into the deeper realms of consciousness, where the boundaries between myths and reality blur. The frames strive to translate the idea, relying on the enigmatic silence of the forests to tell the story of a mystical warrior who remains stoic in his quest to find something that defines him and his creed.
He discovers it deep within the forests, where a man possesses the secret, an urn, that he is searching for. A kalari sword fight ensues, culminating in the retrieval of the urn, which is then presented to four Poothan Thira figures.
Set 800 years ago, the film blends mythology, ritual, surrealism, and art.
Such settings and stories have long fascinated P G S Sooraj, a media professional and the brain behind The Secret Messengers, which is currently out on YouTube.
“A lot of earlier works have influenced me — like documentaries on aliens and films such as Under the Skin,” he says. “The genre feeds on humankind’s eternal question: are we alone in the universe?”
Many have indeed attempted to answer, or address rather, it in their own cultural ways. Sooraj has adapted a storytelling framework that merges nature, culture, and an ancient ritualistic art of Kerala.
“My deep passion for forests led me to set the story in deep woods. Kalari was used because of its roots in the science of the physical and its ties to the spiritual,” he says.
“The ritual art form of Poothan Thira was used because it has indelible ties to nature. It was shaped by nature, both the physical and spiritual elements.”
Narrating a story based on such a theme comes with its own challenges. “Shooting in forests involves administrative and technical difficulties. Lighting was another issue. We often had to shift location, and finally zeroed in on the woods of Ponmudi and the Chitranjali Studio premises,” says Sooraj.
The casting of kalari artists Kishore and Rajeesh was also an experiment, as both were well-trained in martial arts but raw as actors. “They were recommended by CVN Kalari’s Satyanarayana Gurukkal. I wanted to capture their emotions as they brought the Kalari moves to life,” says Sooraj.
“Kalari is something that is yet to be fully utilised in films. It is unique to the culture of the land I was trying to portray. So was the use of Poothan Thira. Usually, when the ritual mysticism in nature is depicted, the artform used is mostly Theyyam. But we have so many other artforms, and I used just one of them — to show the custodians of a universe different from ours, from where they and the warrior may have come. The blood of the warrior is also shown as green to denote an alien element.”
Aliens need not always conform to the Hollywood narrative, Sooraj quips. “I was inspired to bring the folk element into our understanding of aliens because of the deep understanding of the universe and the beyond as narrated in our culture,” he says.
“Some AI interpretations of the idea sparked the idea for this film. So, the question of aliens may be the same, the stories too — but the way they can be told can vary from one culture to another.” The film, produced by Bijesh Nair, features a technical team that has worked on popular films such as Empuraan, Premalu, Romancham and Aarattu. “Their expertise contributed immensely because the theme demanded the use of graphics. Yet, a lot more could have been done—finance was an issue,” says Sooraj.
Despite budget limitations, however, the film has made the rounds of festivals and won the Best Director award at the Satyajit Ray International Film Festival.
“Someday, I would like to work on a full-length feature film on a theme like this. The genre has been explored extensively in Hollywood. Here, too, some efforts backed by big names have done well. Funding is key,” says Sooraj.
“Humans are always fascinated by such themes. Haven’t you heard of temples in India being built by aliens?”