Even as a child, Rahul Riji Nair did not want to be a filmmaker. After BTech and MBA, while working in a corporate company, I did not feel such a desire. But in 2012, through some friends in Delhi, he came to know regarding the problems of refugees coming to India from Pakistan. I wanted to know more regarding them. That study led to the documentary Human Boundaries. It was very well received.
The documentary has been screened in many countries, including the US and the UK. That’s when the feeling that cinema was his way first came to mind. But Rahul came to the limelight with the announcement of the 2017 Kerala State Film Awards. 4 awards including Best Feature Film for the first film, One Room Light! In 2019, Rahul won the National Award for Best Malayalam Film for his role in ‘Kallanottam’. The director shares the highlights of the new movie ‘Keetham’ with Manorama, which has just started showing in theaters.
Speaking of pests ?
This is a thriller movie. Privacy is disappearing today. When it comes to ‘data theft’ in the media, many people wonder what to do with it. The film proves that this alone is enough for one person to take control of another. Cyber stockings are introduced in the film. The pest is invisible to the naked eye. But will destroy a large area. This is why it is so named.
When you worked with Srinivasan?
I am a fan of Sreeni Sir. Is the most influential actor. He came to the theater at night following going to the hospital for check-ups for several days. Makeup will arrive on set even at 1pm. One day the shoot went on. I did not give dinner break so as not to bother Sreeni Sir. He told them to go one by one and eat. He called me. If you’ve starving to leave me early, you do not need it. Go and eat. At intervals he would tell old movie stories. It was the feeling I got when I went to film school for not studying film.
Rajeesh Vijayan returns as heroine?
At first it was not thought that Rajeesh would be the heroine in the movie Khokho. Rajeesh came under many different names. After the Khokho shoot, I wanted to do another film with Rajeesh as the heroine. But it was not expected to happen so soon. The thought of the pest movie comes to mind from the real life experience. When the story came to mind, I first told Rajeesh.
Is the goal of social change through cinema?
Film has always been in the forefront of social change. The film should not be made if its sole purpose is to give a message to the community. Other low cost methods can be adopted. He started writing from the concept that light becomes a villain when writing the story of one room light. But it also came down to the issue of husband rape. Other movies have similar strong messages.
Was Kallanottam a new experiment in filmmaking?
‘Kallanottam’ is a film shot entirely on Go Pro camera. This is a camera commonly used by riders and travel vloggers. The camera also plays a major role in the film. It was an adventure to shoot a full-length film on an action camera. Photographer Tobin Thomas and editor Appu Bhattarai took up the adventure. Some experiments were performed. I think it worked.
Were the awards the inspiration for the film career ahead?
One Room Light is an award-winning film that has been approached by many with its story. No one was ready to make a movie. He went ahead with the film in the belief that there would be a society that liked such films more than commercial films. All my friends who understood my plight when I might not find a producer decided to make a film together. The construction cost was only Rs 20 lakh.
It was screened at several film festivals and won the Best Picture award. The film won the Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Picture at the Kolkata International Film Festival. The awards have helped Sinia to conduct various experiments and move forward with confidence.
What to say to those who come with movie ambitions?
It can only be achieved if one works with one hundred percent sincerity. Many of the people I used to go to film opportunities for are not in the movies today. They went in search of other areas. But many of those who seemed to be working very sincerely back then have come a long way in cinema. With intense desire and hard work you will succeed. He resigned to focus only on cinema. With that, he worked full time for the film. May fail at first. But in the end it will succeed
