Pius Scaria Pottamkulam is a 60-year-old business man based in Kottayam. But the age hasn't deterred him from chasing his most cherished dream he has been harboring since his young age – movies. A native of Kanjirappally, Scaria had started his rubber business in Calcutta. But he associated with a number of cultural programs there and his passion for the art of cinema sprouted there. However, his film aspirations were cut short by strong objections from his orthodox family.
He came back to Kottayam and got engaged in the family business of rubber trading. But the flame of his artistic vigor kept burning inside and attained its glorious manifestation in the form of a documentary, titled Chemanna Petti (The Red Box) last year.
Though a 13-minute and 30-second short feature, the documentary suggests the kind of a filmmaker Scaria would have been had he pursued a film career.
“I had met with an accident and this had posed a serious impediment to my work but pursued it (the documentary) with passion and the postal department has been extremely supportive,” a beaming Scaria tells Onmanorama.
The film opens with a nostalgic take on the red post box luring us back to an age when letters and postman were integral part of the society. It was a time when communication was slow and less technical and more an emotional exchange. The film also offers a brief insight into the history and evolution of postal culture in the world.
Apart from chronicling some worthy information on the postal system and its various related features in the past including the telegraph and even its connection with the radio the feature also presents the current situation of postal communication.
“The postal system is largely trampled by the revolutionary advent of information technology, which we cannot do away with either,” Scaria says.
The feature then transports us to a secluded post office building in the man-made island of R-Block surrounded by Vemaband Lake in Alappuzha. The quaint structure, perched on the banks of the lake like a hermit, is detached from the rest of the world and symbolically depicts the current scenario the postal service is swamped in.
Even as the narrative sails ahead unveiling a day's business at the post office in the rustic backdrop, it details the plight of thousands of non-permanent employees working the department with a baggage of uncertainties hanging on their shoulders.
The beauty of the picturesque locales has been brilliantly captured by Santhosh Anima and the music by late Anand Shankar (renowned musician from West Bengal and son of Indian classical dancer, Uday Shankar) elevates the tone of the movie. When the voice of Prof. Aliyar combines with the whole ensemble, the short movie became a complete piece of art and information.
The documentary has already gone places and Scaria has been receiving accolades from wherever it was screened. The short movie not only engages the features of a documentary but unveils the cinematic grace Pius Scaria has long been cherishing.
However, Scaria has one regret, “the documentary was not screened at IFFK last year, even though it was shown at several international festival venues.”
Chemanna Petti received Excellency Award and Special Festival Mention Award at the Mumbai and Delhi Short International Film Festivals-2016. The film will be screened at New York Indian Film Festival-2017.