Stories of spaces

Last year, precisely in May, Jeeva K.J. resigned her lecturer job to chase her dream of directing a feature film. Fortunately, she had a group, First Nations Combines Productions, of like-minded people by her side to help in the journey of Richter Scale 7.6. It is the group’s second project. “We met on Facebook. As none of us had a film background, we decided to do a short movie — Njaval Pazhangal — the first. That project strengthened the team,” says Jeeva. The idea of Richter Scale germinated during the poster release of Njaval Pazhangal. “I hail from Kaduthuruthy. After marriage, I moved to Cherthala, my husband’s place. His family had been living in a very spacious area; they had to move to a smaller space when that area turned an industrial site. Life shrank to a small canvas, making things difficult,” recalls Jeeva. 

“We were thinking about exposing this situation through cinema. It was at the same time we met Reji sir (scriptwriter), who was also thinking on the same lines, at the poster launch venue. He had visited such areas and we had first-hand accounts on our side. The budget too was feasible. Hence, we decided to give it a shot,” she adds. The movie was shot in Thiruvananthapuram. State awarding-winning actor Ashok Kumar and Murukan play the lead roles in Richter Scale 7.6. As the name suggests, the film is linked to land and measurement.

“The story of Richter Scale unravels through two characters living in a house situated atop a hill that is dwindling owing to land encroachment. Like a Richter Scale, the movie measures the emotional state of people who live in such constrained spaces,” explains Jeeva, who was pregnant during the shooting.   “It was two days prior to the shooting that I came to know about pregnancy. I was instructed to take bed rest. But I went to the set. Everyone was so supportive that I could complete the task without much difficulty,” she says.

Not just that, at one point, they were forced to drop the project due to financial crisis. But then, Campus Oaks, the alumni unit of NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad, lent a hand. “They partnered with us.” After months of hard work, the movie is now being sent to various festivals. It was screened at festivals like Kazhcha International Film Festival and Folk Film Festival in Thrissur. It is also selected for the Noida International Film Festival.