Call of the wild

Kaadakalam, a movie by debut director Dr Sakhil Raveendran, narrates the lives of tribal child Kunjappoo and his deep connection with nature
Still from Kaadakalam
Still from Kaadakalam

The lives of Kunjappoo and his father are interlinked with the forest. Their happiness is living in the lap of nature. Kaadakalam, a movie by Dr Sakhil Raveendran, tells the story of characters Kunjappo and Murugan and their relationship with the jungle. Sakhil, who used to be a physician at Government Health Centre in Idukki, was inspired by the lives of tribal people around him. His love for filmmaking made the doctor narrate the lives he witnessed in Idukki into a one-hour film last year. The movie captures the essence of the forest and the lives surrounding it and  went on to win two accolades at the 52nd Kerala State Film Awards — best children’s film and best lyricist.

Murugan, played by Satheesh Kunnoth, teaches his son, played by Davinchi Satheesh, (his son in real life too) to live in and love the forest. The story idea came to Sakhil during a trek to the hilly outskirts of Idukki with his young forest guide, Shivaraman. 

“It was in 2018 when I came to know the story of Shivaraman, a tribal living inside the forests. His mother passed away when he was a child and his father was killed by an elephant later. His father taught him that the forest is his birth mother and he remained in the forest due to that sentiment which grew as it was where his parents lived. His life inspired me to create the film about Kunjappoo and Murugan,” says Sakhil. 

Satheesh is a theatre artist and his son has already acted in a few films as a child artist. The young boy’s life changes after entering the city. He struggles in the concrete jungle and his forest calls him back. Soon, little Kunjappoo returns to the only home he knows, to the bosom of the deep forest.   

Sakhil says through this emotional story, he wanted to convey the need to conserve our environment by staying to our roots. The shooting kicked off in 2019 in Memari, a place inside the Idukki outskirts which is always wet, says the young director. The beauty of the wild was captured on camera by cinematographer Reji Joseph. The dual award comes as a recognition for our effort, says Sakhil who attempted the direction without the support of his family. 

“My family did not support my filmmaking at first. They recognised my efforts when the awards were declared. It was the crew who assured me that the project was a worthy one and will be recognised at film festivals. The award was a confidence boost for me and the team,” adds Sakhil, who says it was a challenge to complete the film with a J10 lakh budget.

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