Thrissur: Director Sathyan Anthikkad has a long way to go from Anthikkad home to stories. 3 km from Anthikkad Rural Library to Sri Krishna Library. Tap the story of MT who was not there and go to Manalur Library in the next village. In the mind of Sathyan, who boarded the train to Chennai to study cinema at the age of nineteen, the same cycling bell rang beyond the fifty-seven films that had made a name for themselves as directors on the title card.
Yesterday, we and the Minister of State for Agriculture, V.S. Sunil Kumar also went on a bicycle. The event took place in a field just outside the house. There is no distance to go by car. I took the bike. Now there is only a child’s bicycle at home. Height is not enough. You have to lie down and run. However, every ride along the Anthikkad roads is a story to be trampled on by memories, says Sathyan.
My first vehicle was a twin hero bicycle donated by my brother Mohanan. That was in the eighth grade. When the working brother bought a new bicycle, he gave the old one. Anthikkad took him to the bicycle shop, styled him with a dynamo. He had already learned to ride a bicycle. The practice was on a rental bicycle. 50 paise per hour. Rate will decrease at night!
There were less houses in the country then. Endless fields to look at. In the summer, the brick fields are spread out like a field. In the moonlight, those grounds will be a source of excitement for us. I bought the car six or seven years after I became a director. By then, the gusts of wind, city entry and Gandhinagar Second Street were out. When you come home, you go to the theater to see your own movie on a bicycle!
Literary weekly and film publications were available at the Thriprayar junction at that time. You can cycle 5 km from Anthikkad. Acquaintances would say to me, leaning on a bicycle on the side of the shop, looking at the magazines: Satya, watch a movie; Well done!
The rainbow cane, the pillow mantra, the mindset … Cycle is also a character in many movies. Each of his films is an extension of the director’s life. That’s how the cycle in my movies came about. Sathyan’s bicycle is still ringing in the streets of Anthikkad, filled with old moonlit nights of stories.