A film for the greater good

Director Shashank Ramanujapuram is mighty chuffed as his aim to make a large-scale social impact is finally coming to fruition. While he has already made around 23 short films, most of which have explored social awareness themes from drunken driving to child labour and from corruption to suicides, it is his latest film, Marolokam, that is being talked about for evoking a serious discussion on drug abuse. So much so that the 15-minute film has managed to touch some of the big shots from the city’s police department, who have decided to screen Shashank’s film in theatres.

“We are going to trim it into a shorter version of 90 seconds for the audiences in theatres,” shares the filmmaker.

Despite the law meting out severe punishments, going as far as death sentences, to individuals dealing with drugs, cases continue to be reported very often. “That’s the reason I wanted to come up with the film. It’s a very important issue that needs to be discussed. I have always wanted to make films that are socially relevant and can impact a change. I am glad that it will reach a wider audience now in cinemas,” says Shashank, a resident of Secunderabad.

Starring well-known actors Sana, Sameer and Sai Kiran as the lead characters, the plot of the short film transpires in a village. Elaborating on the story, Shashank shares, “In general, we see drug dealings being depicted at pubs. But I wanted to paint an alternative picture which is very real — that of drug abuse in rural areas. We shot at Munganoor, near Hayathnagar. Also, the reason I roped in such well-known faces was because a message will have an impact only when you see familiar faces delivering it.”

Beautiful Life, an earlier film of Shashank’s that dealt with drunken driving, had also received appreciation from Commissioner of Police Mahesh Bhagwat. “He encouraged me to come up with more such educational films, and if today Marolokam is reaching such a wide audience, I sure can credit his support as the prime catalyst,” he concludes gratefully.