Since the hashtag trend took over the virtual world, no hashtag has stormed the internet the way #MeToo did. As a viral campaign, part of the success of #MeToo had to do with how deeply personal it felt. Within days, our social media feeds were flooded with friends and family members adding their stories. While the mass ran behind the names of predators and preys, the movement continued to gather strength, underlining how big the problem is.
#MeToo, a Malayalam short film that talks about sexual abuse of women and how a woman decides to name and shame two sexual predators via Facebook, went viral lately, amassing almost one lakh views on social media and 18,000 views on YouTube.
The short film, directed by Sandeep Sasikumar, depicts how a working woman manages her way out of the hands of two attackers while returning home from work. Sandeep says his aim was to convey the idea that women have to respond wisely in such conditions, and that they can use any means to escape from the predators.
“Women should believe in themselves and stop thinking that they are inferior to men,” he says. The heroine in the movie, played by Sandeep’s wife Sajitha, uses a very odd but effective way to escape. She does it with aplomb and does not hide the incident either. She lets the world know what she had to face through a Facebook post. “I was just trying to convey the idea that women are not powerless and they need to react in whatever way they can. They should show courage to speak out. Now, they have got a head start with #MeToo. There is a platform for them to share their stories,” says Sandeep, who is a professional graphic designer and runs an online media company.
This is his first directorial venture and Sandeep says the number of positive responses he is getting makes the debut special. “I am getting numerous calls and messages, especially from women who sometimes share their own experiences. It was hard to hear their stories, but at the same time, I felt really proud that they shared their stories because they could relate to my film. It is like getting an award,” he shares.
Sunil Thrissur has written the script for the 13-minute-long short film and Ann Prabhath has handled the camera. The supporting cast includes Arunsol, Shaji A John, Athira Rinu, Ravi AJ, Siju and Baby Sarangy.
Sandeep dreams of entering Malayalam film industry as a director. And he has already received offers for penning scripts.
“Nothing has been finalised but I have a few projects on my mind. I am hopeful that I can start working on my next project soon,” he concludes.
