“This is a film you have to make; not me”
This is what director Jayaraj said while holding Santhosh, who sought blessings before directing his first film.
Jayaraj inquired about the story of the movie after asking about the details of the maiden movie.
“Nodding”
Santhosh first replied with one word. Jayaraj thought for a moment. Then Santhosh went into the details of the story.
The conversation extended to the Tamil villages where the evil custom of killing the elderly, those unable to work, and those with chronic diseases by relatives and their own children continues to this day. The lamentation of the village, where the elderly live in fear, is filled with words.
On the day of the ceremony, the elders are woken up early in the morning. Then the head and the whole body will be poured a stream of oil. If this is repeated for a long time, the victim will start seeing death in front of them. Then cold water is poured over the head. Then the charcoal water prepared with some special ingredients is poured into the mouth. Due to this, the functioning of their kidneys is disrupted. In the next 2-3 days the old heart will catch fever or pneumonia. There are about thirty different methods of this old age killing. Forcefully pouring cow’s milk into the nose to cause breathing difficulties and poisoning. Now there are special people who have taken over the ritual of Thalaikoothal, which was done by the family themselves at first. There are people in those villages who do headhunting to get a government job when their father died.
After hearing everything, Jayaraj went inside and came with a file. It was a completed script on the same subject. The complete screenplay of his next film. He closed the open file. With the decision not to open again. Santhosh was speechless and choked in front of the affection and blessing that came with that decision.
Director Santhosh Mandoor talks about the film life of investigations, efforts and accidents. Santhosh, who won the state award for his first film ‘Pani’, is continuing his film journey with his upcoming film ‘Bullet Diaries’. Santhosh opened the album in conversation about his two-decade-long survival period in the Malayalam cinema scene through his years of experience working as a co-director and assistant director. Santhosh was an assistant director in Jayaraj’s film ‘Makalarku’, which is an internationally acclaimed director. Santhosh was very impressed by Jayaraj’s film concepts, which produced a variety of films that no other director in Malayalam could claim, such as family films, action films, musical thrillers and international film festival films.
‘Fever’ of endorsements
The director Santhosh first heard about the practice of beheading from a video he saw unexpectedly. Further investigations and studies about Talaikuthal led Santhosh to some startling facts. Santhosh’s film Pani won the audience’s favor and critical attention because it questioned the brutality of a people in the name of custom, which it knew and understood, and which still exists in this twenty-first century.
“I first came to know about this ritual from a video. In poor families, when the children are unable to look after their ailing parents, talaikuttal is a ritual in which the locals and relatives are summoned and killed in a euthanasia manner. If this ritual was once meant to save people from suffering, the sad fact is that today it is done for property and money,” says Santosh. Thalaikkutal is performed in various ways. Santhosh said that he started writing the film after understanding the same.
“What we have shown in fever is a method of cephalic treatment by pouring oil and water on the head and cooling it with cold water. Death occurs in cases of headache due to fever and pneumonia. That alone does not appear to be murder. We often find out after the fact. That is the tragedy of it. Therefore, legally, cases related to this do not come before the police. The script of the movie was prepared after meeting and talking to many people who had to witness the ritual of Talaikuthal. Santosh’s opinion is that this type of bad behavior is the continuation of evil feelings that exist in humans since ancient times. There is a mental state among humans to harm people in small and big ways. Thalaikuthal has been practiced for centuries as a national custom. They do not feel abnormal in it when they see it as a ritual.
Santosh’s opinion is that any ritual should exist on the basis of humanity. Santhosh’s social mission through his first film is to express a bad practice that still exists today with its intensity. Santosh says that such incidents are happening in many places in Kerala, but the outside world is not aware of it. The more than two-century-old malpractice continues to escape the eyes of the law for many other reasons. It was feared that there would be some problems while shooting the headshot scenes. However, the shooting of these scenes took place at night. So it was able to be shot without any problems and the film was selected for eighteen international film festivals.
Filming was done in Tenkasi and Palakkad. MR. Gopakumar, Nishant Sagar, Roslyn, Anjali Menon and Aimee have played the lead roles.
The film won the Special Jury Award for Best Film and the Special Jury Award for Best Cinematography (Madhu Ampat) at the 2019 State Film Awards. It won the FIPRESI Award for Best Film at IFFK. It was selected as the best film at the New Delhi International Film Festival. It won the Special Jury Award at the Iran International Moving Film Festival. P.A. It won the Bakker Foundation Award for Best Film and Best Debut Director. ‘Pani’ also won the 2020 Folklore Academy Award. Pani was selected for 18 film festivals such as Toronto, Mexican and Philippine. The film will be OTT soon. It will reach the audience through the platform.
The recognition of the first film inspired Santhosh to approach cinema more responsibly. 2021 consecutively for approval. He was appointed as a member of the selection jury in the Indian cinema category at FFK and as a member of the special jury at the Iran International Moving Film Festival. Through it, I got a chance to watch many movies.
To the movie
Cinema has been a passion of Santhosh since his school days. After graduating, he went straight to cinema. It can be said that documentaries and short films were the first platform. After signing in these fields, one becomes an independent film director. Ever since I started thinking about movies, I wanted to become a director. The short film Lost Space directed by Santosh won many awards.
He worked with Jayaraj as assistant director and as assistant director and associate director with Sathish Paul (Fingerprint), Madhu Kaitrapram (Ekantham), Sanjeev Sivan (Stranger), M.G. Also worked with Shashi (Adayala), Mizhikal Sakshi (Ashok R. Nath) and others. He also composed the amateur play ‘Eyampatakal’ which was performed at many venues. Santosh says that working with superstars like Mammootty and Mohanlal in the film industry has been a great experience. It was a courage for the journey ahead. But that was not true happiness. The ultimate goal was to make my own film. Santhosh says that the recognition of his first film, which he wrote and directed on the courage of his experience gained as an assistant director and co-director for two decades from many locations, gave him the responsibility and encouragement to make good films in the future.
Not an award; The goal is artistic value and audience support
I felt happy when I got the awards. But what people want most is the joy and theatrical success of watching a movie in theaters. Not attracted to awards. The support of film loving producers helps in the preparation of artistic creations. Santosh said that fortunately the first film and the new film got such producers.
Bullet diaries to target
Bullet Diaries is a new movie written and directed by Santhosh
Coming to theaters. The film is based on a true story. The director claims that the film has many good acting moments and emotional scenes. The filming took place in Kannur near Alkode with Kapimala as the main location. Starring Dhyan Srinivasan and Raju Joseph, Bullet Diaries features Ranji Panicker, Prayaga Martin, Johnny Antony, Sudheer Karamana, Sethulakshmi, Nisha Sarang and others. This film is produced by expatriates Nobin Mathew, Pramod Mattummal and Minu Thomas under the banner of Bithrim Creations. Shaan Rahman composes the music with lyrics composed by Kaitapram.
Cinematography by Faisal Ali. Editing by Ranjan Abraham.
Apart from the hilly region of Kannur, the shooting took place in locations including Madikeri and Mangalore. The film is the story of Raju Joseph, who comes from Kattapana to Alakode, a migrant village in Kannur, and is emotionally involved in his personal life. A 64 Model Bullet motorcycle features prominently throughout the film.
The story, screenplay, dialogue and direction of the film, which talks about how a bike subjugates life beyond a vehicle, is done by Santosh Mandoor. Filming was completed after overcoming the difficulties of the Covid era.
“Behind the accolades that the first film Pani won, there was a journey of its own. It mostly went to the festival. It was mostly seen by an audience with that type of taste. But Bullet Diaries was done in a way that everyone likes it,” said the director. I want to do all the stories that I like to do. Immediately after the completion of Bullet Diaries, the work for the next film also started. Santhosh said that the film’s script will be completed soon. Santosh says that the support of his family has always been his strength in his film career. The late V.P. He is the son of Kunhiraman and Kyartyani. Wife Anupama P. W.D. is an officer. Children: Shraddha S. Raman, Siddharth S. Raman (Students).
K. Sujith