Kerala - Kochi   

Spreading the message of water conservation

Staff Reporter

BOTTLE TRAP: A still from the documentary Maayan Kaalam

KOCHI: When the world came together to discuss the issue of dwindling water resources and the urgent need to preserve them at the Fourth World Water Forum, held at Mexico from March 16 to 22, the angst of the layman from these parts of the world was perhaps expressed effectively through a film.

Vinod Krishnan's debut film Maayan Kaalam was one among the feature films screened in the `Water and Film section' at the forum. At present working with a publishing group in the city, Vinod has absolutely no training in film-making.

Driven by the urge to visuals, he made this 52-minute film in digital format in 2004. Since then, it has been accepted by activists working in the water conservation.

The film is about a well-digger in Malabar. To make the film more interesting, the part of the protagonist was played by Sankaran, a well-digger by profession.

Vinod did not struggle too much to convince Sankaran about the project, as the theme was too close to his life and experiences.

The protagonist in the film loses his job, and life, when market economy prohibits digging of wells. Told in three dreams, the film spells out the worries of a common man from whom natural resources are snatched away. The struggle of public for right to water at Cochabamba in Bolivia was the trigger Vinod needed to start working on the film.

The film had deep roots in its milieu, as the director claims to have made it "funded partially by the workers of People's Cinema by digging wells and undertaking construction works for the local bodies for its water supply schemes." Sankaran also chipped in with his contribution — a day's earnings.

The film was screened at many venues, including the World Social Forum, Toronto, and at Plachimada to mark the 1000th day of the ongoing protest against a soft-drink giant in exploiting the groundwater resources. Vinod's film is going places, as activists who have seen the film are spreading the word. Right now, Vinod is working on his next movie titled Sugarcane.

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