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Working on themes that inspire her

Kochi: Anjali Menon seems to be really lucky. The big names in Malayalam film industry are giving company to this young director in her debut feature film titled ‘Manchadikuru.’

Produced under the banner of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Little Films (India) Private Ltd, the movie’s cast include Thilakan, Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Murali, Urvashi, Jagathy Sreekumar, Kalpana, and Rahman.

The list does not end there. Switzerland-based cinematographer Pietro Zuercher is behind the camera. Kavalam Naryana Panikkar has written the lyrics and the music will be by Ramesh Narayanan. Says Ms. Menon: “Manchadikuru is a journey back to a south Malabar village in the late 1970s — a humorous family story which touches upon the lives of non-resident Keralites who arrive in the village to attend a funeral.

The whole family is forced to stay together despite their mutual tensions. Unaware of the family politics, the children discover a friendship that they can never forget.”

Manchadikuru is the first in the series of movies being produced by the NFDC under the banner ‘Cinemas of India.’ NDFC Regional Manager Ramakrishnan says that the project will promote Indian cinema within the country and abroad. “Manchadikuru will be shown with sub-titles in multiplexes and releasing centres abroad. The theatre release will be in June 2008,” he said.

For Ms. Menon, Manchadikuru will be special, as it marks her foray into the feature film category.

Her journey with the visual media began with documentaries. Later, she experimented with short-films in fiction category. Asked whether newcomers were finding it tough to get producers, she said that the difficulty was in getting the ‘right producer for the right movie’.

As a woman, she does not want to confine herself to making ‘feminist movies.’ She would rather make movies with themes that inspire her.

“Manchadikuru is one among them. It is narrated from the view point of a 10-year-old boy played by Master Siddharth,” she said. Shooting of the movie will soon begin at Ottapalam and Thiruvilvamala soon.

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