Although Megha Priya Sunil is more fond of thriller and mystery films, her début Malayalam short film, Megha, falls in a totally different genre.
The film, scripted, directed and edited by her, is about a young girl who ignores the naysayers and achieves her dream of becoming an astronaut. The 15-minute movie, shot entirely in Thiruvananthapuram, was released on YouTube on April 8 and has garnered over 7,120 views and counting.
Megha Priya Sunil | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
“Making a short film of my own has been a dream of mine. As I found my daily routine monotonous, I decided to finally act upon a story thread I had in mind,” says Megha Priya, a second-year journalism student at Mar Ivanios College.
After turning the idea into a script, she read it out to Anathakrishnan Prakash, a friend of hers, who agreed to do the cinematography. Megha, who acted in Transition, a short film by Krishnanunni Mangalath, and Sir, Oru Additional Sheet by Keerthan Dinesh, says that most of the cast for Megha were from Transition, while the crew were students from her college. “It may be an amateur team and I am lucky that my dad, CK Sunil, who is supportive of my goals in life, agreed to produce the film. The movie was shot over three weekends with a budget of ₹8,000.”
Saranga H (as the young Megha) and Krishna Kanth in a scene from the short film Megha | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
As she has no prior experience in editing, Megha Priya learned from various online tutorials and her seniors at college. “A reason why I wanted to make a short film is because I want to become a film editor. I am fascinated by how an editor takes raw footages and splices them together to create a beautiful film. The editing world is still an all-male bastion with a just a handful of women in the field. I hope to change that. Megha is for people who dare to dream big and I hope they will be inspired by my film. For, if a village girl can one day walk on the moon, anyone can realise their goal in life if they put their heart and soul into it,” says the 20-year-old.
Megha Priya is currently posting small videos on her daily routine during this lockdown period on Instagram.