Malayalam filmmaker takes inspiration from a Kochi lore for animated short film

Writer- director Rahul Riji Nair’s Kingara Kavyam has been selected for the competition section of AniMela, considered to be the first international animation festival in India.


Speaking to us, the director said, “To be selected for such a valuable platform, where South Asia’s best films are being screened, is very exciting. There are nine films in the South Asian competition section, and being one among them is truly gratifying.”


It was during the 2020 lockdown that Rahul, a live-action filmmaker, developed the desire to make an animation film. "I wrote the script during that time as well. I soon realised that making an animation film requires more money and resources than an independent live-action feature,” he recalls.


He shares that the work flow process in animation is very different from live-action filmmaking. "After more than two years of groundwork, I collaborated with Ananthakrishnan TU, Visakh PK and Lijo Joseph, to create a traditional hand-drawn 2D animation film. Due to various reasons, it took us two years to complete the film,” he informs.

Rahul says he always found the Kappiri Muthappan lore of Kochi - a love story between an African slave and the native woman - intriguing, as well as the history of the slave trade. "We conducted research to accurately depict the costumes and lifestyle of that era as this is part of our shared history. How many people know that slave trade once existed in Kerala? At its core, the film is a love story between two oppressed people,” says the filmmaker, who is currently making plans for a full-length animated feature film.


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