THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There are two books that author and filmmaker Raj Nair returns to when he is depressed or is gripped by writer’s block; the Ramayana and his grandfather Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai’s modern-day epic Kayar. “Those are the two books that you can just open and start reading from any page,” he says. Raj is in the city to kickstart work on his second movie Vyadha. “Vyadha is my grief,” he says. The movie centres around the trials and tribulations that a Kathakali artist undergoes in the present-day world. He says the film will also encompass the caste-related and intolerance issues gripping the society. Unlike his last film Punyam Aham which had cast roped in from the mainstream media, Vyadha’s protagonist will be played by a real-life Kathakali artist.
Except for one artist from mainstream media who will play a significant part in the movie, rest will be cast from other streams like drama. Kumarakom and Payyannor are some of the locations identified for the movie.But it’s not just cinema that he has on his mind right now. He is currently crafting a novel Bhoomiyile Paravakal, a story that spans the past 50 years. A highlight of the book is that it has Thakazhi and Raj Nair himself essaying characters. “But the story won’t carry the original names,” he is quick to add. His book of short stories titled Ente Khadikaram is ready for publishing.
An English novel Snefnug, meaning snowflakes in Danish, is also getting ready.
to co-produce the forum’s new initiative of promoting women filmmakers. The forum will help produce movies by independent women filmmakers. “I like the forum’s philosophy and concepts, and their view towards humanity. I am excited by this new venture which will give freedom to women,” says Raj Nair on what spurred him to associate with Kazhcha.
He said Mirabilia Films, his production company, will associate with Kazhcha in this venture. His debut movie, ‘Punyam Aham,’ created ripples with its ingenuity and depth of characters. ‘A writer’s movie’ that is how Adoor Gopalakrishnan remarked after watching Punyam Aham, Raj Nair recalls.
Although a university professoriate and senior clinical consultant based in Australia, Raj Nair is ardently passionate about movie making. But in the core of his being, he is always a writer. And that is only what he wants to be. “It is always a dark shadow,” he says on the looming presence of his grandfather in his life where he has to uphold the legacy of the legendary writer while carving out a path of his own in literature.
The filmmaker is also definite that he wouldn’t adapt any of his grandfather’s works for the screen.