Director Kamal KM is returning to cinema with the multi-starrer “Pada”, based on a real-life incident that shook Kerala.

On 4 October 1996, the then Palakkad collector was held hostage in his office for nearly ten hours by a group of men who called themselves ‘Ayyankali Pada’. The incident led to inquiries and searches, and its results are still discussed in official circles and among activists fighting for justice for tribal communities in Kerala.

“In 1996, the Government of Kerala amended the Adivasi (Tribal) Lands Act. The radical group felt that the amendment should be challenged, as it violates the rights of the tribals on their land. Their methods did not conform to the laws of the land, but the fact remains that the tribals still get a raw deal. From inception,” says Kamal KM.

struggle for land

This real life incident inspired Kamal FootIt is set to release on March 10. Critically acclaimed director as a director of a film after 2012 Identification, It is said that the struggle of the tribals to get back their land and forests continues even today, which is why this film is relevant. Kamal, who worked as an academic at the KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, was determined to return to cinema with a big-budget mainstream film.

“2022 marks the 25th year of that ‘abduction’ attempt to draw public attention to the plight of the tribals,” Kamal sees the police action against tribals in Muthanga as a power game against a helpless population . He added: “The killers of Madhu, an Adivasi, who was lynched, are still not punished. Tribal communities in India are still fighting for their rights in the forests and on their land.”

extensive research

Before writing the film’s script, Kamal met and interviewed everyone involved in the kidnapping and subsequent release of the collector in detail. The then Chief Secretary had led the campaign to free the collector, to avoid the bloodshed and to bring justice to the guilty. The operation to rescue him was led by an IPS officer on special assignment who became the Director General of Police in Kerala.

Kamal, a postgraduate student of journalism in 1996, says Foot There is an attempt to understand the consequences after that event in October. He met activists involved in the incident to understand why they did this radical act and what were their views on it today.

Kamal traveled to Hyderabad to meet the senior bureaucrat, who still remembers that day with shudder. “His wife narrated a message from the kidnappers who told her that her husband would be executed if their demands were not met. I met everyone involved in the kidnapping to know what happened to them,” says the director.

For example, the Collector and his wife decided to leave Kerala after the kidnapping. “He told me how even the establishment did not fully understand the trauma they had to go through and, later, there were allegations that the collector had colluded with the captors to save their lives!”

event control, Foot Examines the equation of power and sensitivity towards the less privileged.

Joju George, Vinayakan, Kunchako Boban and Dilesh Pothan in a scene from ‘Pada’ directed by Kamal KM. photo credit: Nirmal KF

With a sterling cast including some of Malayalam cinema’s finest actors, such as Kunchko Bobban, Indran, Salim Kumar, Dilesh Pothan, Joju George, Vinayakan, Prakash Raj, Karmana Sudhir, Kani Kusuruthy and Unnimaya Prasad, the film raises many questions. Government and governance.

The film questions the efficacy of the establishment in finding real-time solutions to the struggle of the tribals for their land. “It is not only about that issue but also about the sensitivity of those in power and how they use it. After all, bureaucrats are known as government servants.”

Shot in and around Thrissur and Palakkad from July 2019 to December 2021, the film stars over 1,500 junior actors. The shooting was completed in 50 days in four schedules.

A still of ‘Pada’ directed by Kamal KM, which is based on a real life incident. photo credit: Nirmal KF

“Each character has importance. The former DGP wanted to know whose story was being told through the film. ‘I replied that it was the story of each of us!’

It’s a “small film in terms of cast and budget” for Kamal. It’s about a lonely man and his reaction when one of his actions puts him in the limelight. Title lonelyThis film is also based on a real life story. Kamal explains: “It’s like recovering from a big movie like Pada. Set in Kannur, the lead character of the film will be played by Joju. The shooting will start in March-April and I hope to complete it within 30 days.”

With all FootKamal met the man who inspired the film. In September, he is expected to launch a new film 11KV based on several contemporary events.