“I really believe that 10 Decalogues by Polish film maker Krzysztof Kieślowski made me madly chase art cinema....It was in 1999 or 2000 I saw the films in IFFK....And the thrill I am getting now when I realise that I am travelling to the master film maker's place with my tiny film also is something unexplainable.”
Thus went new-age auteur Sanalkumar Sasidharan’s post on his Facebook page after his much-awarded film Sexy Durga was selected to be screened at the New Horizons Film Festival in Poland. Life seems to have come full circle for Sanal.
After travelling the international festival circuit with his hard-hitting Sexy Durga, the homegrown filmmaker is back in Thiruvananthapuram, shooting for his new film, Unmadiyude Maranam, which he hopes to complete in early 2018.
The cast? “As usual, all of them are actors, no stars in my films. Some of them are newcomers to cinema,” he says with a wry grin.
“Unmadiyude Maranam is about public censoring that has become common today. It is about creative freedom and society. Even the most political people are forced to think about social acceptability while articulating their views. There are so many curbs on an individual’s freedom; curbs that even decide how a person should think and shape his thought process. Some of the restraints are overt, while many are covert and the conditioning starts from childhood. So, from an early age we perceive many situations, issues and people with certain pre-set views. Like two of my previous movies Ozhivudivasathe Kali and Sexy Durga, this does not have a written script either,” says Sanal, perched on a chair in his office near Punnapuram road.
Minimalistic filmmaking
Sanal’s minimalistic frames and style of working is reflected in the office as well, which also serves as one of the locations of his new film. A few plastic chairs are scattered here and there in the front room while some of his crew members are squatting on the floor, discussing their work. A mat has been placed against a wall and the place is buzzing with activities.
The self-taught filmmaker caught the attention of cineastes with films that raise uncomfortable questions about contemporary issues like gender, caste, moral policing and so on. Moreover, his movies, made on a shoestring budget, have steered clear of mainstream Malayalam cinema and its commercial concerns.
Explaining why he does not believe in casting stars in his award-winning film, Sanal elaborates that as cinema is not about heroism or stardom, he does not see the need to be confined by the star system. As a result of his conviction that cinema is not for commercial exploitation, he says he has been freed from the pressures of playing to the gallery or the box office. However, his works are very much rooted in contemporary issues and has a political stand that is woven into the theme.
Sexy Durga, for instance, was lauded for its complete cinematic experience and relevant theme. Based on a woman’s tryst with the night and her experiences, Sexy Durga unveils a tale of our times and how contemporary society interacts with a woman once daylight fades and night falls.
In the dark of the night
“It is as if the night is not meant for law-abiding citizens. At night, I have seen policemen chasing away people on the roads. Such empty spaces are where anti-social elements reign and women have a tough time,” he argues. However, the filmmaker agrees that women have not played a central role in his works that usually tend to focus on men’s perspectives. “That is because I am a man and my friends’ circles are also dominated by men. As of now, women don’t have a strong presence in public spaces. To work on a theme that I am unfamiliar with would not be natural and I am not comfortable with that,” he admits.
For Sanal, the political and the personal merge in his creative endeavours and it looks as if his new film, reportedly about a film director, was also born in the crucible of his personal encounters when a group of people raised objections to the title of his film, Sexy Durga. Uncompromising in his cinematic ventures, Sanal refuses to be cowed down or hemmed in by rabble-rousers in any kind of a space. When throwing light on the dark corners and rough edges of society, Sanal points out that he does not make films to impress others and he does not expect every one to agree with his premises.
So, does he have any fears as a filmmaker?
“Yes, I do. I fear technicalities. The camera has limitations and so what we see on location may not be what we see on screen. Sound has to be reproduced... Machines scare me.”
In the meantime, he hopes to hold a screening of Sexy Durga for viewers in Kerala. He says with a smile that he is trying to cram in time to arrange such as screening in between the shooting of Unmadiyude Maranam.
Cranked by Prathap Joseph, who also filmed Sexy Durga, Unmadiyude Maranam is being produced by Shaji Mathew and Aruna Mathew, the producers of Ozhivudivasathe Kali and Sexy Durga as well, under the banner of NIV ART Movies.