Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

City youth to weave magic in Japanese film

CELLULOID STORYTELLERS: Shooting in progress at the Magic Academy for a telefilm made by the official television of Japan, N.H.K.

Thiruvananthapuram: Abhin Raj would never have thought that his passion for magic would help him charm television viewers in Japan. The 20- year-old nursing student from the city is the protagonist of a Japanese video film on the evolution of a young magician.

A team from NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting corporation, arrived at the Magic Academy here on Friday to film the story of a youngster for whom learning magic becomes a milestone in life. The team is led by director Shota Fujimoto. Hirotatsu Kimagai wields the camera.

The 30-minute documentary will depict how an Indian youngster overcomes the challenges of life in a middle-class family by making the right choices.

The documentary is to be aired on NHK in June this year in the slot titled ‘Asian Smiles.’

Mr. Fujimoto hopes the film will inspire heavily-stressed Japanese youth to overcome their frustrations. The film will be shot at the Magic Academy and Abhin’s house at Manacaud.

The Japanese team will be here for 10 days. They have plans to record classes, research work and other activities at the academy and its research centre at Kazhakuttam. The film will have shots of Abhin Raj receiving grooming sessions from Gopinath Muthukad, executive director of the academy, and magic performances by R. Raja Moorthy at a restaurant. It will also show Abhin’s magic show bringing smiles to the faces of patients in a medical ward.

The Japanese team is accompanied by Rajinder, a translator from Delhi.

It has already visited 20 Asian countries in search of inspiring stories for the ‘Asian Smiles’ series.

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