53rd International Film Festival of India (53rd IFFI 2022)-first feature film-“Dhabari Quruvi”- in Indian film history to have a star cast comprising only indigenous people

 

ഇന്ത്യയുടെ 53 -മത് രാജ്യാന്തര ചലച്ചിത്രോത്സവത്തിലെ ഇന്ത്യൻ പനോരമയിൽ സ്ഥാനം പിടിച്ച ,ഇരുള ഭാഷയിൽ നിർമ്മിച്ച ,പ്രിയനന്ദനന്റെ 'ധാബറി കുരുവി'  ശ്രദ്ധനേടി 

ആദിവാസി ഗോത്ര വിഭാഗത്തിൽ പെട്ട,  indigenous people എന്ന് പരിഷ്കൃതരെന്ന് അഹംഭാവമുള്ളവർ , വിശേഷിപ്പിക്കുന്ന  അഭിനേതാക്കളുമായി എത്തുന്ന ആദ്യത്തെ ഫീച്ചർ ചിത്രം ധാബറി കുരുവി(“Dhabari Quruvi”) ഇന്ത്യൻ പനോരമ വിഭാഗത്തിൽ വേറിട്ടുനിന്നു . ആചാരങ്ങളോട് പടപൊരുതി ,ഒരു ആദിവാസി പെൺകുട്ടി നടത്തുന്ന  ക്ഷോഭജനകമായ ജീവിതയാത്രയുടെ കഥയാണ് സംവിധായകൻ പ്രിയദർശൻ ധബരി കുരുവി (Dhabari Quruvi)എന്ന സിനിമയിലൂടെ അനാവരണം ചെയ്യുന്നത് .മാത്രമല്ല സംവിധായകൻ പറയുന്നതുപോലെ 'സിനിമയെന്ന മാധ്യമത്തെ ഒരു ഉദ്ദേശ്യത്തോടെയാണ് താൻ സമീപിക്കുന്നത്' ഇന്ത്യൻ പനോരമയിൽ വേൾഡ് പ്രിമിയർ ആയി നിറഞ്ഞ സദസിൽ പ്രദർശിപ്പിച്ചു ..ധാബറി എന്ന കുരുവിക്ക്‌ നാടോടി കഥയിൽ അച്ഛൻ അജ്ഞാതനാണ്.ഈ ജനവിഭാഗത്തിന്റെ ജീവിത യാത്ര സുഗമമാക്കാനും ധാരണകൾ തിരുത്താനും കഴിഞ്ഞെങ്കിൽ എന്ന് പ്രിയദർശൻ പ്രത്യാശ പ്രകടിപ്പിച്ചു . ഇരുള ,മുതുക ,കുറുമ്പ ,വടുക വിഭാഗത്തിൽ പെടുന്ന ആദിവാസികളാണ് ചി ത്രത്തിലെ അഭിനേതാക്കൾ  .  അഭിനേതാക്കളായ മീനാക്ഷിയും ശ്യാമിനിയും പ്രിയനന്ദനനോടൊപ്പം പനോരമയിൽ അതിഥികളാണ്. 

“Dhabari Quruvi” had its world premiere in the Indian Panorama section at 53rd International Film Festival of India in Goa.

“Dhabari Quruvi” portrays the tempestuous journey of a tribal girl who battles convention and seeks to free herself from the chains with which society and community had tied down those like her. Distinguished as the first film in the history of Indian cinema to star only people from indigenous communities,  The film also has the distinction of having been shot completely in the tribal language of Irula. Director Priyanandan while interacting with the media and festival delegates at one of the “Table Talks” sessions being organized by PIB on the side-lines of the festival shared his sincere wish to make a change in the lives of young tribal girls who have forgotten to stand for themselves accepting the norm of “fate” set on them by their community. “Using cinema as a medium, my attempt is to stand for a cause,” Priyanandan, the National Award-winning filmmaker said. Talking about his movie, Priyanandan said it deals with a contemporary issue about people who are side-lined, about those unwed mothers in a tribal community in Kerala. “They are living by accepting this ordeal as their fate without making a single attempt to come out of that,” he told.  The film depicts the story of a naive tribal girl who rises from the ashes to proclaim the solitary right she has, on her body and the decisions upon it. Mythologically, Dhabari Quruvi is a sparrow from a folklore tale whose father remains unknown. Sharing his notions on marginalizing a place, its people, and how they are being mocked by the mainstream, Priyanandan said through his film he wants to change that perception too.  On using cinema as a medium for social change, Priyanandan said his idea of cinema is that it is not just for entertainment. “It can be used for making the change in the lives of people whom we have”t even met.”The actors from tribal communities were selected from an acting workshop conducted at Attappadi in which around 150 people participated. Asked about the challenges in working with these first-time actors, “There is an artist inside every human. I never asked them to act, they just behaved as themselves. They were just living the ordeals in their real life”.

While throwing light on the issues being faced by tribal people Priyanandan said there are no efforts to bring them to the mainstream. “Though there is no dearth of funds, those people are still facing numerous issues. He opined that there needs to be an effort to understand them from their perspective and formulate policies based on that.”More than sixty people, belonging to Irula, Muduka, Kurumba, and Vaduka tribal communities of Attappadi, a scheduled tribe hamlet in the southern Indian state of Kerala have acted in the movie. “Quite a few of them had not ever seen a film in their entire life,” the Director told.

Thanking IFFI for giving a great platform for its world premiere, Priyanandan said he is planning to screen the movie in all the tribal hamlets to gain the desired goal. Meenakshi and Shyamini who played the main characters in the film and Cinematographer Aswaghoshan were also in attendance at the media interaction. The cast also includes Anuprasobhini and Muruki and  Nanjiyamma, the tribal woman from Attappady who got the 68th National Film Award for Best Female Singer last year. ( Courtesy: PIB)