Parole: Blogger's Film on Children

Parole, a short film based on a story and script by Malayalam blogger K.V. Manikantan (author of the 'Sankuchitham' blog) and directed by Sanal Sasidharan (author of 'Sanathanam' blog), was screened at Changampuzha Park, Kochi at 4.30 p.m. on Saturday. The film had its first screening at Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

Shot at Ozhukil Mana, Chathannoor (Pattambi), the 50-minute film revolves round three children, Kannan and his neighbours Ammu and Vishnu, all enacted by debutant actors. The central character of Kannan is played by Aditya. Kalyani, a blogger"s daughter, plays the role of Ammu. Sudhir, son of the late actor Karamana Janardhanan, plays the role of Achu, Kannan"s father.

"Parole is about the angst of children in exile. The central motif is the life snatched away from a child who is forced to embark on a stifled existence abroad, leaving behind all the intrinsic pleasures and freedom of childhood in his native place," director Sanal Sasidharan said to a newspaper.

K.V. Manikantan's Parole first appeared in the Gulf edition of the Mathrubhoomi daily. The story earned rave reviews after he posted it on his blog. A little later, Manikantan posted a screenplay based on the story and launched a hunt for directors. That is when Sanal Sasidharan, who earlier directed the award-wining short film Athisayalokam, came into the picture. He agreed to direct the film. Later, another blogger Reji Prasad, currently working as cinematographer M.J. Radhakrishnan"s assistant, also joined the team. The only big name in the crew is editor Ajithkumar, who has been associated with renowned director Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Venu Pattambi is the art director.

"We decided to make the screenplay into a movie and then everything began falling into place. Since we had this huge world of netizens to support us, what began as a five-member venture grew into a 50-member close-knit group. We didn"t go after mainstream personalities to handle any role in its creation, so the making of the movie was comparatively an easy affair," Sanal Sasidharan said, adding that the budget of the film was only Rs 2.5 lakhs.