Director Anant Mahadevan praises Kerala audience for skill to interpret films from different genres
Thrissur-based Mahadevan's film 'Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/2005' was screened as part of the 'Indian Cinema Now' category at the IFFK.
Thrissur-based Mahadevan's film 'Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/2005' was screened as part of the 'Indian Cinema Now' category at the IFFK.
Thrissur-based Mahadevan's film 'Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/2005' was screened as part of the 'Indian Cinema Now' category at the IFFK.
Thiruvananthapuram: The audience in Kerala are able to welcome and interpret films from different genres, actor-turned-director Anant Mahadevan said here. He said the Kerala audience is more cinema literate.
The director was speaking as part of a 'Meet The Directors' session at the 24th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). The session was attended by director Anuraj Manohar (Ishq: Not a Love Story) and debut director Fahim Irshad (Aani Mani).
Thrissur-based Mahadevans' film Mai Ghat: Crime No 103/2005 was screened as part of the 'Indian Cinema Now' category at the IFFK. The Marathi film was based on the 13-year-long legal battle of Keralite woman Prabhavati Amma, whose son Udayakumar died a custodial death in 2005. Two cops were eventually found guilty and were sentenced to death by the Kerala High Court in 2017.
Mahadevan made the film from court documents. "Adapting a film from such detailed cases involved combining fact with sentiment. Sometimes real-life was even stranger than fiction," he added.
Usha Jadhav played the role of Prabha Mai, a single mother. Jadhav is best known for her role in the 2012 Marathi film Dhag for which she won the National Film Award for Best Actress at the 60th National Film Awards. She has also played various roles in Bollywood films and commercial advertisements.
Anuraj Manohar on analogue and digital films
Anuraj Manohar, director of Ishq talked about his experiences working on both analogue and digital films. The older analogue style was more rigorous and time-consuming to do.
As an experienced assistant-director, he enjoys the freedom that digital filmmaking brings to directors and actors. Manohar added that stress was the enemy of good-filmmaking.
He used his own film Ishq as an example, citing that 28 days of night shooting had caused a lot of stress for the actor and technicians. He also talked about the menace of moral-policing and how it was the right of every Indian to live a life free of fear. Moral-policing was also disproportionately directed at women and this was something he tried to bring out in his film.
He also expressed great happiness at having his debut directorial in the IFFK and felt that it was a dream come true.