With sky-high dreams kept in his bag, debutant short film Rijo Davis put his first step into the film, by directing the short film Maravil Oral. Probably, there is much to probe. What is there in Rijo when thousands of short film makers are coming out with independent films uploaded in YouTube on a daily basis? For his debut, Rijo roped in some of the known faces and made a short film with a strong social message with a quality on par with mainstream films.
The film shows the repercussions of smoking, passive smoking and gives a warning to the reckless life of youngsters, who succumb to social pressures. Even though the film has some of the fresh faces as the main leads, what attracts the viewer is the meticulous acting of the child actress Akshara Kishore and renowned oncologist
Dr V.P. Gangadharan. Actor Dileep has done a narration towards the end of the movie and extended his support to spread the social message.
Having finished his course in film direction in 2010, Rijo talks about his passion and the reason to do the film. “I have done Maravil Oral as a stepping stone to the industry. A lot of assistant directors are there, but they get an identity only if they have a solid work to show. And I wanted my first work to be a timeless production, something with relevance. The idea about Maravil Oral came about after a discussion with my friend on the dangers of passive smoking. Even though I don’t smoke, the realisation prompted me to spread the message,” says Rijo.
It is Baby Akshara’s first short film too. The child actor, who has conquered the hearts of Malayalees with her performance in Aadupuliyattom, has also appeared in Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Pinneyum. “Akshara’s father was convinced about the story’s social message and decided to get her act besides her busy schedule of acting in so many films at the same time. And she did a very heart-warming role,” says Rijo.
The most challenging part was to get Dr V P Gangadharan’s date. “First of all, we were not sure if he would act. However, we met him and convinced him, but we couldn’t get a date. But I didn’t mind waiting to get his presence in the short film with such a strong subject. Finally, we got him for three hours to shoot and he did an incredible job in acting.”
Dileep’s narration was a surprise element. “It was great to have him extend his support to our venture as he liked what we did.”
