Thottavadi in love with Nature

"Observe nature and learn from its infinite wonders," is the starting point of all scientific investigations. Knowledge begins from wonder! In fact, all our academic activities are intended to create wonder in the hearts of students, which can further fan the flames of curiosity in students, leading to ways of self-acquired knowledge. Whatever may be the present situation of our educational system; our teachers have a creative role here!

Knowing that films offer the right medium to convey a fascination for nature to today's generation, a school teacher has made a short film with a message for schoolchildren observe nature and learn from its infinite wonders! Thottavadi, made by Faizal Korangode, a teacher, urges students to explore nature"s riches.

Faizal says that Thottavadi is an attempt to make schoolchildren appreciate the delicate beauty and infinite variety of nature, and by doing so, triggering their creativity. Thottavadi, produced by Signature Creations, is the third film venture of Faizal, whose earlier work Akam was well appreciated in the ALA short film festival recently.

Interestingly, the actors in Thottavadi are none other than Faizal's own students in Ramanattukara and Feroke panchayat areas. The team launched a talent-hunt among the students and 50 students from seven schools were identified, of which the best were selected. The director has canned the film in the ambience of a village school.

Thottavadi is the story of a boy, Abi Ahamed, who is sensitive to nature and fascinated by its intricate wonders. From a small classroom experiment in a test-tube to the shrinking of the touch-me-not plant on touch, everything captivates him. But neither his classmates nor teachers understand his passion for nature, making him depressed and lonely.

However, Abi Ahamed finds solace in collecting "valuables" from nature, such as feathers, beads, seeds and so on, which go on to win accolades for his school in the science exhibition. Abi's teacher fails to return his precious articles to him by negligence, which leads to the sad end of the film reminding the viewers that each item in a collection is a bunch of irreplaceable memories.

Besides a few forgivable follies, Thottavadi is a creditable attempt for a small collective, which has made use of the medium in a brilliant way for a worthy cause.