Kadoram, the upcoming Malayalam film directed by debutant Sajil Mampad, is slated to release on the Cave OTT platform on Thursday (June 24).
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Sajil says he shot the film in 2019 when he was in his second year of college. The 22-year-old filmmaker recently graduated with a Mass Communication degree from MES Mampad College in Malappuram, Kerala.
“I came up with the idea when I was in college, and one of our teachers Sameer Khan agreed to produce the film along with another producer Jaseel Farhan. Ardhra Krishna, who plays the lead role, is also a student from our college. I reached out to Sumod [Gopu], who had previously written La Sa Gu (2014), for scripting Kadoram,” Sajil tells us.
About the film’s plot, he says, “Kadoram means forest side. Kadoram tells the story of young woman named Sandhya who lives near a forest. Her father is a tribal man who had moved out of the settlement after marrying a woman in town. However, Sandhya and her father return to the forest after her mother leaves them. Since she has grown up around the forest, it is like her home and she knows everything about it. Like any other woman, Sandhya too faces gender hurdles and persecution, such as stalking and harassment. The film is about her efforts to overcome these problems.”
The two-hour drama film advocates for women’s right to equality, says the filmmaker. “I came up with this concept because I have seen many women subjected to patriarchal abuse, discrimination, and much more. I have always been opposed to such inequality. In this film, I have tried to discuss such pressing issues.”
Sajil adds that the forest plays an important element in the plot and the final act of the film unfolds inside the forest. The filmmaker and his team researched the lives of people settled near the forest land and tribal people whose lives are closely associated with the forest.
The film was shot by Jazin Jaseel in the forest areas near Nilambur in Malappuram. Jazin has also edited the film.
“Kadoram is an art film made for film festivals. It does not have commercial elements like a mainstream film,” Sajil says. He adds that the film has been officially selected for the Singapore Film Carnival, Four River Film Festival (Croatia), and Sudan International Film Festival, among others.
The filmmaker says the team opted for a direct-OTT release due to the prevailing uncertainty over the reopening of theatres.
