Exploring the oblivion

KOCHI: What goes on in the mind of a man conceding to death, nearing his journey to eternal life? As it surreally travels with the thoughts of a young man stuck between life and death, the new Malayalam music video ‘Oblivion’ conceptualised by actress Santhy Balachandran, travels to the depths of the human mind. The seven-minute music video directed by Dominic Arun was sung by K S Harishankar. Manu Manjith penned the lyrics and the music was composed by Ashwin Renju. 

The music video explores the mindscape of the one-eyed protagonist (played by Sidharth Varma), as his end nears and all the colourful memories rush back to him. Santhy, who is also the executive producer of Oblivion, says: “Dominic wanted me to suggest an out-of-the-box idea. The song successfully conveys loss, romance and destruction.”

Santhy’s love for anthropology, art and mythology influenced her narrative of the video. “ The screenplay incorporates the myth of the Norse god Odin and his quest for wisdom and truth. It also interrogates the subtle overvaluation of seeing when it comes to creating memories,” she says. Nimish Ravi handled the camera and VFX by Vishnuraj P R nourished the video’s aesthetics.

“The afterlife always open doors for imagination. National Award-winning production designer Banglan joined us as art director. The beauty of Oblivion is the team effort. It helped us through the struggles of the pandemic too,” says Dominic. 

According to cinematographer Nimish, the project was a refreshing experience. “I have tried to include unusual hues like red and green in many frames. It took us five days to shoot the visuals amidst the ceaseless rain. But to be frank, many outdoor visuals were not pre-planned, rather was gifted to us by nature in Kochi and Vagamon,” says Nimish.