THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: What does Professor X of X-Men fame have in common with Peter of ‘Comicman’? They are both wheelchair-bound superheroes. The latter, the creation of a 23-year-old Malayali, will be featured at this year’s Ahmedabad International Film Festival.
Written, edited and directed by S Ananthan, the nine-and-a-half-minute film, which employs both live-action and animation sequences, will be screened at the festival on April 24. It was made as part of his semester-six design project module at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad.
However, Ananthan stands apart from most other filmmakers in that he shares similarities with his chief protagonist: he also moves around in a wheelchair, having had mobility issues since birth, and is obsessed with comic books.
A native of Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Ananthan is a recipient of the 2019 National Bal Shree Honour for drawing.
“Since childhood I have had an obsession with comic books,” he tells TNIE. “Growing up, Phantom, Mandrake and Superman were my heroes. While in 10th grade, I created a comic character named ‘Megaman,’ who was also wheelchair-bound. However, I could not complete the project as rather than writing the plot I used to sketch the characters. I ended up losing continuity,” Ananthan adds.
It was after he was admitted to the film and video communication course at NID that the desire to develop the story arose in him. As his father Sreekanth, never treated his son as a disabled child Ananthan grew like any other normal boy.
At NID, he started writing the story for ‘Comicman’.
“I’ve always wanted to make a fun, action-packed film. The stereotypical drama-oriented movies never attracted me. At NID, when the other students showcased serious films, I happened to watch a fun-based film directed by one of my seniors. That shined the path,” Ananthan points out.
Peter’s powers are revealed by accident one day, and he employs them at several points. In the movie, live action is interspersed with motion graphics in certain sequences. “I created the motion graphics for the movie,” he adds.