Into the depths of human mind

Rishi Sharma, a talented young filmmaker, is owner to a turbulent mind, not under his control. In a complex narrative, Ragasoothram, a short-fiction, is exploring its deep undercurrents. The 26-minute short film directed by Sreejith Nampoothiry has been chosen for best sound designing (N. Harikumar) and a special mention for music (Deepankuran) in the recently announced Kerala State Television Awards.

There is a lavish spread of psychology and Sanskrit all throughout the film, with adaptations of the Dravidian culture. The twist comes when Rishi takes a nap and a dream-like sequence evolves from there. “Ragasoothram, subtitled in English, means spectrum of love. It is set as a midnight psycho-thriller with a story within a story. With hopes of telling a short story by exploring the possibilities of fiction, the narrative is designed in the mythological two-layer mood,” the director begins.

It film veers to  an over-the-phone conversation between Rishi and his girlfriend Vani. As hinted in the name, Vani remains a voice and never appears. To his wonder, Rishi finds that he is added to an online secret group Mayashambaram, another strange network of things. Sreejith begins naming the members, things too hard to digest in local parlance.

“The names are a mix of Sanskrit and Pali languages,” says Sreejith, a graduate in Sanskrit language. Ragasoothram is a blog the protagonist happens to open in the group he is added to. Slokas from Rig Veda, a dance in Dravidian form all give it an out-of-the-world touch. There is a lengthy sequence of 3.15 minutes in the film, a dialogue between a man and a statue of a woman. “The faculty called association of ideas, a mental phenomenon, is explored here. As I am interested in reading the works of Sigmund Freud and Ravichandran, those ideas could be incorporated here,” says Sreejith.

Having been to the FISFA International Short Film and Arts Festival held in New Delhi, Ragasoothram is touring the international film festival circuit.

The central character is played by actor Tom Jacob, also the producer of the movie. A psychological song has its verses penned by Arunima, the director’s wife.