Kanal, the Malayalam word for ember, is often used to symbolise a person’s undying spirit to chase his/her passion. Eight years ago, a bunch of like-minded theatre students got a sudden urge to keep their love for stage aflame once their studies got over. The M Phils of University of Kerala’s Centre for Performing and Visual Arts went on to form the Kanal Samskarika Vedi just with this aim.
The flame is still aglow in full glory. The outfit has grown and hasn’t restricted itself to any one medium of expression. They ventured into the world of motion pictures, making many noteworthy award-winning short films that have gone viral on YouTube.
“This is an active space that treats theatre and cinema with equal fervour. We have done 12 plays and six short films in this period. Some of the members have played significant roles in movies and others have shown their mettle in reality shows. What started off as an alumni collective has flourished,” says Kannan Nayar, an active member of Kanal Samskarika Vedi.
Since the departure of their former head of the department and veteran theatre person Vayala Vasudevan Pillai in 2011, Kanal has instituted an award in memory of their dearest ‘Vayala sir’ to honour the best in the theatre field every year.
Mukhalakshanam, is the latest film from Kanal. In a film festival conducted by Revathy Kalamandir Film Academy in association with a media house, the film walked away with three awards — for best film through audience poll, best director (Anuj Ramachandran) and best actor (Kannan Nayar).
Close on the heels of Mukhalakshanam, they came up with Oru Rathri, a suspense thriller. “We ourselves are meeting the entire making cost of our productions. And every time, we somehow manage,” adds Kannan. In 2015, they did a daring act of producing a play entirely in Sanskrit titled Kimartham Draupadi with Draupadi as the central character.
