Change of scene
P. K. AJITH KUMAR
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V.K. Prakash, director of `Moonnamathoral,' the first digital film in Malayalam, plans to make his next film in Kannada.
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Any youngster who wants to make a film can do it digitally at a less cost ... V.K. PRAKASH
NEW VISTAS: Jayaram in `Moonnamathoral,' which has opened new frontiers in filmmaking.
Early this year, when Martin Sebastian, managing director of the Thrissur-based Emil and Eric Digital, asked V.K. Prakash if he could make a digital film, the adman-turned-director enthusiastically accepted the challenge.
"I liked the idea and thought the subject of `Moonnamathoral' would be ideal for the first complete digital film in Malayalam. You need a story like that if you want to make good use of digital technology," says Prakash, who was in Kozhikode recently.
He believes the future of world cinema is digital.
Digital technology
"Any youngster who wants to make a film can do it digitally at a considerably less cost and in much less time than the conventional way."
Enumerating the advantages of digital technology over conventional filmmaking, he says, "Clarity of images are far superior; it is evident in `Moonnamathoral.' You can manipulate the colours the way you want to and it's easier to use special effects. A digital movie will always retain its freshness, unlike the prints of conventional films."
`Moonnamathoral' is Prakash's fifth film. He had an impressive debut in 2000 with `Punaradhivasam,' which remains his best work so far. The story of a man finding his soul mate outside his marriage, and the conflicts it brings into his life, was sensitively told without any pretensions. The film, which had excellent performances by Manoj K. Jayan and Nandita Das and a fine screenplay by P. Balachandran, had won the State and National awards and many international awards too.
V.K. Prakash
Admitting that the film has a special place in his heart, Prakash says, "That is the kind of film I would like to make, but unfortunately there is no market for such cinema today. That was not the case in the heyday of directors like Padmarajan, Bharathan and K.G. George. Those were the best days of mainstream Malayalam cinema; I wanted to be a director after watching their films. But sadly, there is no audience for such films today. I had to produce `Punaradhivasam' myself, but I'm happy I could do a quality film."
`Freaky Chakra' (Hindi), `Police' and `Mullavalliyum Thenmavum' are his other works. He admits his films couldn't quite live up to the expectations generated by `Punaradhivasam.'
"They were technically well made and I attempted different subjects with those films. While `Mullavalliyum Thenmavum' was a romance, `Police' was an action flick. `Freaky Chakra' was a whacky film, and it was great working with the talented Deepti Naval. Now, I want to make another film like `Punaradhivasam.' My next film will be in Kannada though."
Ad films
Prakash, who set up Trends Ad Film Makers in Bangalore 10 years ago after beginning his career at O&M, says he will continue to make ad films.
"I have been in the field for 20 years and I enjoy making them, as much as feature films," says this product of Calicut University's School of Drama, Thrissur.
A hallmark of his films is the catchy music. "That is because I love music, though I cannot sing. For instance, in `Moonnamathoral,' I made Shibu Chakravarthy write the lyrics before they were set to tune by Ouseppachan." Prakash says he is enthused by the audience's reaction to `Moonnamathoral.'
"I am happy that I have taken a step that could change the concept of filmmaking in India," he says.
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