Malayalam film industry is set to make its first movie with an all-women crew, titled Violets. Prominent writer KR Meera announced the film during International Women’s Day on Facebook.
മലയാള സിനിമയിൽ ആദ്യമായി മുഴുവൻ അണിയറ ജോലികളും സ്ത്രീകൾ കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്യുന്ന ‘വയലറ്റ്സ്’ എന്ന സിനിമയുടെ ഔപചാരിക സമാരംഭം …
Posted by K R Meera on Thursday, March 7, 2019
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The movie, produced by Jeshida Shaji under the banner of Paappaathi Media, is directed by Muktha Deedi Chand, daughter of Deedi Damodaran and granddaughter of screenwriter T. Damodaran.
Talking about the venture, the director said to ToI, “Honestly speaking, I never thought I would be the one doing it, though I had always wanted to watch such a movie in Malayalam. I would prefer not to talk about it too much, as I believe the film should make the statement.”
The movie would mark yesteryear actress Seema’s comeback to Malayalam. Veteran director Hariharan will also act for the movie. Along with Sajitha Madathil, Priyanka and Archana Padmini, Renji Panicker, Ramu and Kailash are part of the cast.
“The movie is women-centric and I wanted women crew as I felt only they will be able to properly understand the film,” said the debutante director.
The technical crew of the movie comprises of cinematographer Fowzia Fathima and editor Bina Paul. The theme music will be composed by Fathima Rafiq Shekhar, AR Rahman’s sister. Mallika Sarabhai will be the choreographer on the project.
Sivaparvathy Rajkumar, the member of the all-women band Drutaa has been hired to compose music for the movie, while VM Girija is the lyric writer.
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Deedi Damodharan, who scripts the movie, felt that an all-women crew was definitely the need of the hour. “Women hardly ever figure prominently in the 90-year history of the Malayalam cinema. It has always been a man’s world. We are still in a state where we boast about one woman or the first woman achievement in our industry. How many women directors, scriptwriters and cinematographers are there in Malayalam? A gender reversal is needed and being a middle-aged woman with self-respect, I cannot leave this world without doing my bit towards this,” she says.
Recently, the Kerala Government announced a grant of Rs.3 crore for women filmmakers. People had raised questions if claiming that money was the intention behind Violets. Deedi Damodaran responded, “We aren’t aiming at the grant at all, as I believe there are many aspiring filmmakers and technicians around us who haven’t had the range of experiences as my daughter. The grant should go to them; that’s precisely why we have producers. I wonder why people are shocked to hear of a movie with an all-woman crew. I think, the shock is necessary.”
Watch the first look of the movie: