Thiruvananthapuram: He is now into the final stages of his second film, Ayyaal Sassi, a world apart from his famous first - Unto the Dusk. Those were scary days, says a hoarse voice. Sajin Baabu has a cold, not exactly like Frank Sinatra. But a cold still, and he has been able to visit the venue of the International Film Festival of Kerala just once so far. The festival means a lot to him. It is watching the films at this festival that made him want to become a filmmaker. “It has been scary trying to make a film of the kind you see here. Will I ever reach there, I'd think. But I wanted it to be perfect and had done a lot of running around,” Sajin remembers.
All that work paid off. His film had won two awards including the ‘Rajatha Chakoram’ the year it was selected in the competition category of the IFFK. To win that at a festival he grew up watching and loving meant the world to Sajin. “There's something about winning something at your own fest.” That's how he sees the IFFK, as his own.
There was, while making the first film, the challenges of convincing many people including the technicians, the producers and the audience. “They don't know your work, its quality. There is nothing to show them except some short films and documentaries.” He finds it less stressful doing his second film for there is something to show now, his first work. The starting trouble is over.
