What makes the Thrissur Pooram a visual treat is its sights and sounds. If you have sight, you can go there and watch it in its full glory. How about a visually-impaired person? She or he may not even come near the ground as the place would be crowded. The Sound Story, a film directed by Prasad Prabhakar, intends to bridge this gap.
His film, which will see Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookkutty reprising his real life persona, is a treat for visually-challenged persons. The movie will be released in four languages — Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
“Visually-impaired persons will get confused in such a situation. They will have no freedom of movement. This movie, which is docu-fiction in nature, is a treat for them from Resul Pookkutty,” says Prasad.
In 2009, after Resul got the Oscar, when an interviewer asked him about his wish, he said he wanted to record the Pooram live. And, this year, when the Pooram happened, Resul had come to the venue to record it live. That will be the main component of the movie, which also has actors Sunil Sugatha, Joy Mathew and musician Afzal Yusuf in prominent roles.
“The venue will have 300 artistes surrounded by close to 2 lakh people. There would even be the sound of their hands moving. To record the sound of instruments may not be hectic, but capturing the sound of crowd cheering is a strenuous task. Resul has done that. This movie is a sound archive for coming generations,” says Prasad. “It develops through Resul’s point of view. He comes to Thrissur to record the Pooram. We project the culture of India before the world through this project. And the life of visually-impaired people is entwined with it. You can watch this movie with your eyes closed.”
Later, the team re-recorded the melam and panchavadyam part. “That was held at Peruvanam. Artistes like Peruvanam Kuttan Marar, who perform in Thrissur Pooram, played at the venue. It was done in a single day — from morning till evening,” says Abhilash, project chief coordinator.
“Twenty two cameras have been used to capture the event. Besides Resul and other leading artistes, some visually-impaired persons too have acted in it. Nidha Namboothiri, the first female mahout of Asia, talks about elephants,” says Prasad.
The music is scored by Rahul Raj to the lyrics of Vairamuthu. Neil D'Cunha and Aniyan Chithrashala handle the camera, while Antony and Unni Malayali do the editing. Rajeev Panakal of Palmstone Multimedia is the producer.
