A fresh take on Sunnath

KOCHI:  It happened more than twenty years ago. But the memory is still afresh for Ansal Orange. The vivid memory of his ‘Sunnath Kalyanam’ has proved an inspiration for Ansal to craft a short film. Chronicling the fears and trepidations of two young boys of Islamic faith prior to their Sunnath, the newly released short film ‘Sunnath Kalyanam’ offers a fresh take on the practice.

The movie has created ripples in social media circuits with the short garnering more than one lakh views within a short time span. Replete with generous doses of humourous instances, the short film is one scenic adventure. The dramatic events that follow during the Sunnath of the kids are portrayed artistically by weaving into it several hilarious instances. The movie which was released on YouTube by Muzik247 last Saturday garnered more than 1 Lakh views within 2 days of its release.

Noted actor Mamukkoya dons the role of Lassar Ossan, the person who arrives to perform Sunnath. A few interesting instances that occurred during the director’s Sunnath were also weaved into the plot. “During my time, it was done for me and my cousins on the same day. I have tried to add the interesting events that transpired during that time as well,” he adds.

The movie which only captures the incident doesn’t take a stand on the religious practice which has come under the scrutiny along with other practices such as Kuttiyottam. It is just a nostalgic take, the director tells you. Even while acknowledging that the film hasnt been crafted to give a message, Ansal says the whole idea was just to create a good piece which can be enjoyed by all.

Ansal who has written the story and directed the short says the movie is the work of his network of friends. The movie has been produced by 18 of his friends while the cinematography is by Santhosh Anima. Scripted by Hanan Muhammed, the movie has Mammukoya, Jayakrishnan, Sini Abraham, and Sreeja Das as main actors. Narrated by Saiju Kurup, the short marks the debut of child actors Nihal and Aaron, the young boys upon whom Sunnath is being performed.

Ansal adds that the team dedicated more time for pre-production and post-production whilst the movie itself was shot in a span of three days.The 11 minute 20 second short has been shot in Pazhoor mana in Piravom which adds an old world charm to the movie. “For me, this is not a short film. It is my first movie,” adds Ansal, a wedding photographer who is ardently passionate about filmmaking. A great admirer of actor Mammootty, the 34-year-old nurtures a wish of the showing the film to the actor. “I hope that Mammootty watches it at some point in time,” he adds.

The events evolving in a traditional Muslim family also tries to shatter the stereotyping the community has been subjected to in its portrayal over the years. “We have also given a stress on breaking the stereotyping the men and women in the community are being subjected to in terms of their representation in movies. In all our movies, a typical costume is followed. That is not how things pan out in real life. We have tried to offer a realistic take and the costumes have been designed taking account of this,” he adds. This is evident in the attire which the men and women have been decked in. Ansal adds that he has steered clear of following a cliched ending and tried to give a fresh take.