Cinema possesses a universal language, and the message conveyed by the Malayalam movie ‘Olu’ can reach the audience, irrespective of language barriers, said veteran Malayalam film director Shaji N. Karun. Aditya Suhas Jambhle, director of the Marathi Film ‘Kharvas’, said that society hardly understands the sufferings of women and his film is an attempt to spread awareness on this critical social issue.
‘Olu’ and ‘Kharvas’ are the opening films in the Feature and Non Feature categories respectively, of the Indian Panorama Section, at the 49th International Film Festival of India, Goa. Both directors were addressing a joint press conference on their films at the Media Centre of IFFI Wednesday 21st November.
The cast of ‘Olu’, including leading actors Shane Nigam, Ms. Esther Anil, Ms. Kani and producer, A.V. Anoop, and the producer of Kharvas, Madhukar Joshi were attended the press conference.
Shaji N Karun said that an original work of cinema has to remain like a painting; its dubbing into other languages would spoil its beauty. The director said that ‘Olu’ depicts the tale of a gypsy girl Maya who mysteriously survives under the Kerala backwaters where she has been sunk by her rapists. Later, fate brings her close to Vasu, a young and amateur painter. Out of love, she empowers him to create paintings that will change his life. In this way, the movie Olu blends reality with fantasy.
Karun said that the devotion of the cast and crew to make an honest expression of themselves was what enabled the film to become a way of addressing a fantasy. He noted that the cast and crew have taken a lot of pain in capturing the visuals as the movie has a lot of underwater scenes. He said that work lasting for six to seven months was done to complete VFX works of the film. The production process was very challenging as there were many technical matters that needed to be taken care of, such as transmission and reception of sound under water.
Talking about his film Kharwas, Aditya Suhas Jambhle said that it took 20 hours to shoot the six-minute climax of the film which presents the mixed feelings of the experience of a woman’s motherhood. Aasawari, a painter by profession, after losing her baby born still, withdraws to her ancestral home in a remote Konkan village. Her emotional struggle to overcome this tragic trauma gets partly resolved when she accidentally learns about a pregnant cow due to deliver in their own cowshed. Kharwas, a sweet dish made from cow’s milk, depicts the emotional depth of the movie.
