Rise of a moviemaker

By the time she turns 10-filmsold, Nayana Sooriyan will be known in the industry as a filmmaker. In all the nine films to her credit, she has been an assistant director, a role often ignored by the fairer sex. But Nayana has dared to explore the field well before hitting her 20s. In the yet-to-be-released portmanteau film Crossroad, she debuts as a film director with Pakshikalude Manam starring Rima Kallingal and Vijay Babu in the lead.

Nayana, who made her foray as an assistant to Lenin Rajendran in Makaramanju, had quite fortuitous entry to the anthology film. “The time discussions for Crossroad were on, everyone wanted a female film director to complete the pack. Luckily, I had worked with some of the directors and also had an acquaintance with others. So many suggestions popped up and my name was approved unanimously,” she says.

The short movie from Nayana captures the beauty of wilderness on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram. Lead Rima is as an ornithologist. The young director’s excitement to work with her gurus reflects in her own words. “In my early days on the film sets, everyone used to look at me like a girl who came accompanying someone. It used to be real fun when they discovered that I was an assistant director.”

That was my brownie point — to be the pampered child on a movie location,” chuckles Nayana. An active indulgence in sort of film activism aside, the Philosophy graduate from University College had in fact zero knowledge regarding the technicalities of the reel world. “In college, I was a part of the Thiruvananthapuram chapter of Bangalore-based Pedestrian Pictures. I knew nothing about how to make a film until I joined my first movie. I cannot forget the moment when Lenin sir guided my hands to make my first clap. I did it without really understanding the purpose of it. He then patiently explained to me what it was for,” she rewinds.

Started with Lenin, she then assisted directors including Kamal, Dr Biju, Jeethu Joseph and Janus Muhammed. Nayana was also been an indispensable crew member for Lenin Rajendran’s stage shows. Besides this, she has done programme production for a few television channels.