KASARGOD: What happens when a child’s mobile addiction turns fatal?
Pachatheyyam, a feature film produced by the Kasaragod district panchayat, explores how harmful a school student’s addiction to mobile phone can become.
The movie, having a runtime of one hour and nine minutes, was shot in various locations in Kasaragod and involves mostly students selected from schools in the district.
The story revolves around Vaishnav, portrayed by Dharmik, a student of Karudukka Government Vocational Higher Secondary School. Vaishnav loves playing. However, his parents, who have high-profile jobs, do not want their son mingling with other children who like playing traditional games, including what they call the ‘theyyam’, the popular North Kerala ritual.
Soon, Vaishnav gets lured to an interactive mobile game which starts assigning him tasks to “make him braver.” In the beginning, the game assigns him minor tasks. But as he gets hooked, the instructor starts assigning destructive work. At one point, Vaishnav is told to commit a murder. The boy steals a gun from his home to settle scores with a school mate whom he dislikes. The rest of the film shows the turn Vaishnav’s life takes, and the role ‘theyyam’ plays in it.
Film director Gopi Kuttikol said the actors Anoop Chandran and Unniraj Cheruvathur perform with 25 schoolchildren in the film, which is jointly produced by Sunday Theatres, a children’s theatre troupe, and Kasaragod district panchayat.
The panchayat provided `12 lakh, while the actors and technicians worked for free. Kuttikol has set aside another `15 lakh to complete all technical works.
“We are going to apply for the censorship certificate for public screening too,” he said.
Panchayat president Baby Balakrishnan said the local body decided to produce the film so that children can be sensitised about the various addictions, including mobile and drug addictions. “We believe the film will reach out to many people. We will screen it in schools across the district,” she said. The panchayat has also sanctioned `1.5 lakh to apply for the censor board certificate” she said.
The film will be screened for students at Karudukka Government HSS on Wednesday.
Students Dharmik and Shika from the school have acted in this film.
Actor Unniraj Cheruvathur will be present for the screening. Deputy director of education T V Madhusoodhanan will inaugurate the screening in the presence of PTA president Suresh Kumar.
