If you have read poems of Nanditha at least once, you wouldn’t forget her. They are deep and mysterious. Numerous emotions would rush to your mind while reading her, urging you to read more. Nanditha, a movie directed by N.N. Baiju, traces her thoughts through her poems. “A lot of stories, right and wrong, have been written about her life over these years. Surf the internet, you could find them. But our movie is not based on her life. It is a reflection of various thoughts in her poems,” says Baiju. He did two years of research to understand Nanditha. “Her poems talk about subjects like love and death. Besides, what we have found out is that she was sad about not having a child,” adds Baiju. Born on 21 May, 1969 in Wayanad, Nanditha was a teacher at Muslim Orphanage Arts and Science College. English was her favourite subject. She committed suicide on 17 January, 1999.
“Her poems were brought to light after her demise. She had a love affair during childhood. That didn’t happen and as a vengeance, she married another man—Ajit—whom, her parents didn’t approve. And, she committed suicide after two years,” says Baiju about her life. Ajit is no more. “She went to meet Ajit, who was working in Bombay. When she returned, she asked her father for a new dress. He brought one. At night, she told her mother that a call would come (landline was in vogue then) and she would attend that. Then, she went upstairs. Later at night, they saw the light was on upstairs and when they reached there, she was hanging. Nanditha had mood swings. She was spontaneous,” he adds.
Baiju, who has earlier made Madayippara, Katha and a few documentaries and short films, says Nanditha is a fantasy movie. “Our movie shows Nanditha as a woman who loved death. Although she is surrounded by people, she lives in her own world and communicates to the characters she has made.” Newbie Gathri Vijay appears as Nanditha in the movie. The script is by Shameer Pattarumadam. The cinematography is handled by Shinu T. Chacko. Shejin Alappuzha, Shivaji Guruvayoor, Yathi Madhavu, Master Mahadev, Kochu Preman, Roji Purushothaman, and Akbar Ali are a few other artistes in the movie. The movie had another title at first. “Her family requested to keep it simply Nanditha as it depicts her thoughts. And so, we renamed it,” says Baiju.
