Arun Chandu
| Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat
When Arun Chandu got a call from a radio jockey at an FM radio station and asked how he felt, Arun was at a loss. “I did not know what the question was about. As I was being recorded, I asked what it was about. I had no clue that Gaganachari had won the Special Award for Outstanding Brilliance in any aspect of Cinematic Art,” says an excited Arun over the phone; he is the co-writer-director of the film. The 54th Kerala State Film Awards were announced on August 16.
That the award came as a surprise for the writer-director of the film is an understatement. He confesses he did not expect the film would appeal to, what he presumed would be, ‘an old school’ jury. “It was prejudice on my part to assume that a film of an offbeat sensibility would not stand a chance at the State Awards. An award was never on my radar, I did not expect it to even be on the spectrum [for an award]!” Gaganachari, a sci-fi mockumentary, set in a post-apocalyptic future, in 2040, tells of a world under siege by aliens, climate change and extreme political ideology. The film stars Ganesh Kumar, Aju Varghese, Anarkali Marikar and Gokul Suresh in lead roles.
The movie’s success was a surprise and unexpected, even for the producers. He calls it [the success] “a ray of hope”. “This acknowledgement has opened the door of opportunity for many youngsters who want to make films on offbeat topics and expect commercial success as well.” Alluding to the difficulties and skepticism he faced during the release, he says “This is closure [to the struggle] on a beautiful note! And it once again proves the oft repeated filmmaker’s cliche dialogue — the audience is the hero.”