Malayalam movie Pada, by director Kamal KM, has created a lot of buzz by raising the relevant issue of land rights of the Adivasis. The director says that he is happy that the film has created ripples and that there is a debate and discussion around the topic he raised. “A film cannot talk about everything around an issue. It can just point at the issue, prepare the audience for a further discussion. In that sense I am very happy that the film has created ripples in this dead water of Malayalam Films,” he said.
Pada is based on a real-life incident where four activists who identify themselves as “ayyankali pada” take a district collector hostage and their demand is to withdraw the 1996 amendment to the 1975 Kerala scheduled tribes (Restriction on transfer of lands and restoration of alienated lands) act. On October 4, 1996, four of them entered into the chamber of Palakkad district collector and took him hostage for about 9 hours demanding that the amendment be brought in but the EK Nayanar government should be withdrawn.
The movie is thoroughly engaging and actors Kunchacko Boban, Dileesh Pothan, Joju George and Vinayakan have done a tremendous job with their layered performances. The film has been successful in communicating the message without being overtly dramatic.
Though set in 1996, the issues raised by the movie are relevant even now. The film raises some uncomfortable questions and throws light on how the successful governments of the state has dealt with the issues of tribals. The montage at the end of the movie shows some powerful images of the protests by Adivasis and the police action on them.
The director was a journalism student at the time of the incident and he still remembers how the news came in their class. Here excerpts from a chat with him:
How did you first think about making a movie based on the incident and what were the preparations?
In 2018 January, when I was preparing for a different movie, producer CV Sarathi and I got into discussion about the Dalit-Adivasi issues and we suddenly remembered about this incident. Then we thought of the possibility of writing a script based on that incident. Then I got into my research and met M N Ravunni, the leader of Porattam. From his memories I could see the screenplay. I met all the four characters who took part in the act. I met the then district collector and district judge, the chief secretary then, and also the IG northzone at that time to get a perspective from all sides. They were all affected by this incident in one way or other. It took a year to finish my reasearch and writing simultaneously.
Were these four your first choice for the four characters?
Yes they were my first choice. I was casting them because they had some kind of similarity with the character. Given Vinayakan’s location, I felt like he is best person to do Kallara babu. Because of Kunchako Boban’s romantic hero image, I thought he should play this young man from Wayanad. He also has a certain kind of romanticism with engagement with literature, cinema. The character he played is the political commentator of that action.
Joju as a person can get affected easily, at the same time he is very tough also. That’s what I could identify with him with Ajayan Mannur. Dileesh Pothan is a more logical, rational person, more humane and that’s the similarity I felt with the character.
Do you think that Malayalam films are discussing caste issues much ?
Not just in Malayalam cinema, Kerala society itself feels shameful to discuss the question of caste. The Malayalam cinema was always ‘savarna’ in its nature and ‘anti cast’ in it’s nature. There has always been a glorification of savarna class in mainstream films. But things are changing now.
How do you feel about the reception your movie is getting?
I feel that support is immense, the appreciation is immense. A lot of people are watching it in theatres. I am getting personal messages, seeing a lot of articles analysing the historical fact behind this incident. A film can’t talk about everything around an issue. It can just point at the issue, prepare the audience for a further discussion. In that sense I am very happy that the film has created ripples in this dead water of Malayalam films.
In the past years, do you think that something has changed for the Adivasi community ?
Nothing has changed for the community, other than Adivasis coming out on their own to question this, the power hierarchy, the oppression they are facing. There is definitely a positive change that is happening within the Dalit and Adivasi community. They have realised that nobody is going to help them so they have to stand on their feet and ask these questions. All these changes are happening.
After all the research, understanding the issues, how does it feel personally to you, once the movie has released?
I feel that I have tried to evoke the left public consciousness, political consciousness and I think the deafening silence over the film from the left is an example of that because they feel guilty about it somehow. The film is asking questions to them and that’s what made them silent.
This happened in 1996, even after so many years the issues are relevant. How do you see this ?
That is why like we felt like the film has got an urgency. That’s where we thought like this is an issue where everyone turn their face off or like the sensitivity of general public is not yet there. That is what we saw in 2003, when AK Antony was CM we saw the state aiming it’s guns to its citizens, the most marginalized class in the state. We saw killing in Muthanga. In 2018 we saw Madhu was lynched by a mob. The was no attention to the dignity of these people from any of the state agency. That is why we thought that it is always a question that comes to our mind but conveniently we forget to ask. They are not visible, they are not vote bank, they do not have any kind of power to lobby their interests, needs or political rights.
