This Filmfare Short Film Festival Shortlisted Movie Is A Source Of Pride For Keralalites

09 Jan 2017
TESSY TITUS
Features

It’s the age of the moving image. The onset of the digital revolution and the Internet, which allow us to easily capture moving images and the emergence of distribution sites such as YouTube, have changed the way moving images relate to society, education and language learning forever. Whether through wit, humor, hard-hitting realism or bold experimentation, films not only prove that the medium is alive and well but act as a medium to bring attention to social matters of importance. In current days,

The short film which made its way to Filmfare Jio Short Film festival Avni,was created by Calicut Medical College students. The movie is directed by Akshay Hareesh, who hails from Kannur. The first work of his team was a horror fiction named 'Corridor.'They had a desire in mind that the second work should reach the audience more effectively.

Their story stemmed from the quotation- "Mothers reflect God's loving presence on earth." yet they are not safe in the society. Akshay decided to present an issue related to crimes against older women. The team scoured the internet and newspaper clippings about the data about crimes faced by older women. The initial short story written by Akshay was later expanded with the help of his friends. Akshay and his team knew well why they wanted tonarrate a moving story about the violence which older women are facing. The question wasn’t whether it would work; the question was how they could best present the story so that it could create the impact they aspired for it to have.

Naming the movie itself was a hard feat. They wanted a name which could convey the thought of Mother Earth and so Kaveri and Aami came up with the name- 'Avni'. So, that name was finalized. The film was produced by Gokulnath R, Nidhin TK, Hareeshan and Jithin Janardhan.

The film shows the three main characters and the emotional rollercoaster that they travel through. The lead actors of the film are Nirmal Palazhi and Kabani Haridas. The story focuses on the older woman in the story, who is undergoing physical and mental trauma in her own house, but is unable to retort or stand up for herself. She stands as a representative for all the older women in the soceity who are going through the same situation as her.

Most people have taken to becoming "keyboard warriors" who talk about social issues on their social media profile, yet fail to stand for the cause in real life.The movie was the team's attempt at creating awareness and a real movement for the cause.

While the shooting of the movie took only two months, the post production took longer to be completed. Avni was released online in October of last year and has gotten a great response since then. The audience has taken the movie and the message it has to offer to heart. The creators hope to reach more people, to prompt to not be silent bystanders to abuse and to show women to fight for themselves.

You can watch the movie here: