Rahul takes ‘Survival Stories’ to YouTube
This anthology of eight stories in Malayalam, made during lockdown, speaks of hope
Survival Stories, conceived and created by Malayalam director Rahul Riji Nair, is an anthology of eight short films.
The shorts fall in different genres and are played by an actor or two within a confined space.
Nair, who received the Kerala State Award for his debut film Ottamuri Velicham, last made the comedy Dakini. His initial plan was to team up with other directors to make the anthology.
“I felt other directors will bring in their ideas, but due to lockdown it did not materialise. So I spoke to actors who were willing to experiment by themselves,” he told tabloid.
Briefing them on the story and the kind of shots to be captured on their mobile cameras, Nair went ahead. Depending on the availability of people at home, the stories were developed. Family members were roped in to double up as cinematographers. “The story Uplifting about two colleagues inside a lift that stops midway was shot by the lead actor’s 60-year-old mother-in-law,” reveals Nair. “For one who had not even clicked a selfie at home, she put us all 30-year-olds to shame.”
Nair directed two films himself, Hook or Crook, featuring Vinitha Koshy of Ottamuri Velicham; and In Love We Trust, where he plays the lead.
For five shorts, he worked remotely, guiding actors over phone and Skype. The short — Toys from Heaven — was directed by filmmaker Jeo Baby.
The eight shorts are about individuals trapped in a situation and the helplessness they go through. Not all situations are physical spaces though. In the story Leak on the Wall, a young man grapples with vision loss while the chapter, For Each Other, is about an individual’s pain and guilt following his father’s demise during lockdown. The short, Titti the Dog, follows a canine’s plight when locked indoors.