COIMBATORE: 'Pack up”, Mangai Harirajan, the short film director, called out to the tiny crowd and gazed at the producer, Mohammed Rafi, with profound contentment. They have just finished their first film. But unlike most of the producers, Rafi isn’t concerned about the revenue. For him, it’s all about the message the movie carries.
Rafi, an endeared social worker, penned and produced the short film ‘Ozhukkam’ to spread awareness about the ill effects of drugs and its widespread usage among school children.
“After Covid-19, drug usage among school students has witnessed a steady increase as most children were restricted inside the house for two years. Our 16-minute short film tries to convey how loneliness affects a child, and they turn towards smoking weed, especially when their parents are getting separated,” he explains.
He has already spent around Rs 12 lakh on producing two short films and an album. Work is underway on the second film portraying the effects of drugs on a father and his family.
That is not all! Over the two decades, this 48-year-old school dropout from Saibaba Colony has helped around 100 brides and bridegrooms from various communities with poor economic backgrounds to tie the knot and provided financial assistance to many students to get proper education—all from his own savings. During the pandemic, Rafi, along with his wife Fathima and brother Jamerul Asain, pledged over 107 sovereigns of their gold to distribute biryani to around 4,000 migrant workers each day for 50 days.
“Even though my friends and acquaintances from abroad offered me funds to help with all these acts, I haven’t received a single penny to date. I have been doing all social work with my own money and with the help of my family and siblings,” he says.
Apart from all these great deeds, Rafi has been president of the All Religious Affinity Movement since 2009 and has helped various religious organizations in their crisis. “Our movement coordinator MM Ramasamy donated seven cents of his land for relocating the Vinayakar temple at Karamadai, which was demolished to widen the road. We have also given over Rs 5 lakh to the state government for revamping mosques,” Rafi says. As a token of appreciation from the State, Rafi was awarded the Kottai Ameer communal harmony award in 2021.
Rafi says he was inspired by his father, Jemesha, who used to feed people living on the roadside. “My aim is to follow my father’s footsteps, launch a trust, and feed thousands of hungry people at least once a day. I don’t want to save money for the future. Rather I would spend it in the present to feed the poor,” he says firmly.