Unveiling the evil

Ansiba Hassan is not a name Malayalis will forget in a hurry; thanks to her role in the super-hit film Drishyam. The actor has largely been absent from the marquee for the past two years, but that does not mean those years have been uneventful, especially in her online space. Social media is not about kind hearts and loving posts; it can show its nasty side, which the bold actor has encountered many a time. Instead of choosing to remain mum, she retaliated against fake news mongers and cyber bullies. In a celebrity-obsessed culture, Ansiba has decided to not take things lying down and has sent a warning shot to the anonymous faces who take pleasure in posting vile comments on social media by using the same social media to her advantage. She has turned director through a short film titled A Live Story, which she has released on her YouTube channel. Two factors converged to help her make the decision about wielding the megaphone as well as choosing her story.

First explaining that she is completing her final year studies in Visual Communication at the Bharathiar University in Coimbatore, she continues, “We have to submit a short film as a part of our studies which can be shot even on mobile phones. I did not just want to make a film for the sake of making it. So I decided to make it as aesthetically appealing as a full-length film, by spending the same amount of effort and money to make it appealing.” Incidentally, the film is written and directed by Ansiba and is notching up a steady increase in views.

Now coming to the storyline, the theme is inspired from an incident which happened in her life. The four-minute short film A Live Story has Marina Michael, Anjana, Pauly Valsan and Prajod Kalabhavan acting in it. Marina plays the role of Laya, an actor who goes on a Facebook live on her birthday and gets a vile 
comment from one of her followers. What happens next is the thrilling part. Laya confronts and exposes the real face of a so-called ‘loving’ husband.  

Ansiba went through the same situation, but with a slight difference. She clearly states that it is not only celebrities, but every woman – age no bar – who has been subjected to vulgar comments from virtual strangers. 
Narrating her ordeal, Ansiba shares, “I once went live on Facebook and a man commented that he wanted to see my breasts. I was so upset because I was going live and there were people seeing the comment. I was insulted and felt so naked in front of all these people. I remained upset for two days but then refused to wallow in misery anymore and take action.” Her friends traced the details of the person who made the nasty comment and managed to get his phone number. A by-then composed Ansiba then proceeded to call him up and confirmed his ID, name and other details. “I did not want to target the wrong person” she adds.  

The man on the other end, while accepting that the profile was his, refused to accept that he had posted the vulgar comment. Ansiba then went further, “I asked to speak to his wife and he must have not expected that since he handed over the phone to her. I asked his wife if she had heard of me and she replied in the affirmative. I then told her what her husband had asked me!”

In a voice filled with rage, Ansiba mentions that it was imperative that his family too was aware of his ‘gentleman’ status. She very strongly mentions, “Only the women in his family are family; the other women are just bodies to be commented upon.” She adds if not a sister, every man has a mother and that his family needs to see his unmasked vile self.  

Ansiba decided to take her own story further in the short film where Laya, faced with the same nasty comment, finds out about her online abuser and confronts him at his own home in front of his mother and wife. The short film has struck a chord with many women and she receives a lot of positive reviews. Again, one of her female followers got a nasty comment of posting a positive review of the short film. Ansiba narrates that sequence, “A random man first asked her if she was ‘challenging all men’ and then commented that he wanted to see her breasts and vagina. But 18 hours later, he deleted that comment, maybe because he was scared of a confrontation similar to the short film.”

Ansiba also takes offence to the ‘challenging-all-men’ comment. She states that not all men are dirty-minded and says, “We have grown up seeing our father and brothers who have protected us and have been our idols. Dirty-minded men are just a minority!”

Ansiba did not find it difficult to rope in the actors. Marina was chosen for her bold look and Prajod, for the look of an educated family man; he accepted to act without qualms. “Pauly auntie also readily agreed and Anjana had that innocent look which I wanted.” The film took just a day to be shot. The obvious 
question is why Ansiba chose not to play the lead, “I was directing and did not want to act too.” Ask why she kept it to four minutes, pat came the reply, “I myself watch videos only if they are short. I know that time is precious for everyone!”

Coming back to her career, Ansiba is reprising her role in the Tamil version of Kattappanayile Rithwik Roshan, the shoot of which is going on.