Questioning the Malayali's pseudo morality

KOCHI:  There are many ways to narrate a serious topic. Baised on the format we choose, the approach will also differ. However, often movies which focus on such topics fails to strike a chord with the viewer. Rarely, you will witness a unique, bold and refreshing approach. Oruthi - the Malayalam short film which won 1.2 million views within three weeks of its release shares a similar experience. 

Directed by renowned celebrity fashion photographer Aghosh Vyshnavam, Oruthi unfolds the true story of child abuse through a prostitute's point of view. "One of my female friends was sexually abused by her teacher.  She asked me to share it with the world to make people aware of the issue. When I went through similar movies in other languages, I felt a redundancy in approach. With further research, I zeroed in on the Oruthi theme," says Agosh. 

The film boasts of a high-profile casting of film director Boban Samuel and cine-serial actress Varada. "We approached around 22 actors to don the roles. As it is a prostitute's role, most of them weren't willing. In between, I happened to see a video made by Varada and Boban Samuel on Tiktok. Luckily, both were convinced about the subject and showed complete confidence me," he says. 

The title was chosen to reflect the society's disrespectful attitude towards women. Much to the astonishment of the maker, after watching the flick, many expressed the mistreatment they encountered in public. "It was planned as a nudge on Malayali's typical callous attitude towards women. But the reception was beyond my expectations," quips the director.

When queried about the sensuous mood set throughout the film, the director confesses his admiration for director Padmarajan's films and its influence in pre-production plans. "Padmarajan sir's works inspired me a lot throughout my silver screen experiments. For Oruthi, I decided to set the plot at night with serious tones. My art director Manoj Greenwoods, make-up man Narasimha Swami and the costumes by Surya Vishnu aided further in effectively conveying the story," he adds.  

The music composed by Gayathri Iyer in Ahiri Raga also received applause from the viewers. The crew is also planning to send the short film for various competitions. "We have already filed for FEFKA's director's union award. In addition, we are reaching out to various foreign film festivals as well," says Agosh. 

"Though I have produced many music videos, Oruthi is my first attempt at short films. As I had prior experience, direction and cinematography didn't pose many challenges," concludes Agosh who is rearing to join the set of Cutie Kathali - a Tamil music video.