What lies beyond intolerance

The scene changes only once, dividing the film into two halves. The first is of a man being chased on the shores of a beach, the second has a child discovering what the man has left behind — his camera that he had clutched close to his chest through the chase. Beyond The End is the name of the film that is a little short of seven minutes. P.G.S. Sooraj has made his debut film on the subject of creative freedom, relevant at a time several attacks have been made on writers and artistes across the country.

“I was inspired at first by the row created by the film PK. Communal forces attacked the film, accusing it of portraying Hinduism in a poor light. Around the same time, there was the attack on writer Perumal Murugan, who was accused of insulting Hinduism in his new book, and who had later announced he would write no more,” Sooraj says. He had always wanted to make a film, be a director. “And I thought, ‘why not start one with the state of a director these days’.” He drops names like Taslima Nasrin and M.F. Husain and refers to the FTII protest.

In his short film, he shows a director being chased by a gang of men who carry symbols of various religions. But Sooraj doesn’t want to finish his film with the attack. He puts into it the picture of the younger generation that would carry forward the legacy of creative freedom. A child finds the director’s tool, and realises it is a camera. He runs away with it, and may perhaps complete the director’s work. “That’s why it is named Beyond the End, creativity can never be suppressed.”

The film has won an award at the Palode Short Film Festival where it was screened. Sooraj is sending the film off to more festivals. He has worked earlier as an assistant director with R. Sarath. He now works as a freelance journalist and teacher, but wishes to plunge into filmmaking some day.