It was after he got trained at a film institute in Chennai that Liju Krishna moved to Kerala to pursue post-graduation in theatre arts. He bagged the degree from the School of Drama, under the Calicut University, with a specialisation in direction. Liju, who directed award-winning play Moment Just Before Death, is now wielding the megaphone for the short film Ima in which the lead roles are essayed by yesteryear stars Pratap Pothen and Menaka.
On his new venture, Liju says, “The concept of Ima was in my mind for the past two years. It was through my friend, who works in noted ad-production house TVC factory that I approached one of its heads — actor Sijoy Varghese with this project. When he heard the subject, he agreed to bankroll this short film and showed green signal,” says Liju.
Ima discusses the love and care between two middle aged people enacted by Pratap and Menaka. “I entered the production phase around one year back. It was when I got producers Sijoy, Dinesh Nair and Riju that I started the casting. I found Pratap sir and Menaka ma’m apt for the role of an ideal married couple who are in love with each other. Menaka acts as a visually-challenged person and Pratap’s character supports her throughout life by adjusting his sight with a spectacle. The 10-minute-long film goes through their life and captures their emotions when they face an unexpected incident,” he says.
Liju, who directed the play Moment Just Before Death and bagged a couple of national awards, is now planning to come up with yet another play. “I was planning it after I completed Moment Just Before Death, but I got busy with assisting a few ad films and feature films. I have also acted in few of them. While working in Koothara, Lalettan (Mohanlal) enquired about my play after he heard about it bagging awards. We even planned to stage it for him, but it did not happen. After that, I got engaged with the short film. Now, I am planning a new play. Along with that, I am writing a screenplay for a feature film too," he sums up.
