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Painting Life | |
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![]() Official poster | |
Directed by | Dr. Biju |
Written by | Dr. Biju |
Produced by | Ushadevi BS |
Starring | Prakash Bare Geetanjali Thapa Ritabhari Chakraborty Shankar Ramakrishnan Purav Goswami Ravi Singh Krishnan Balakrishnan Noksha Saham Phuntsok Ladakhi Meera Vasudevan Melwyn William |
Cinematography | M. J. Radhakrishnan |
Edited by | Davis Manuel |
Music by | Mark Chan |
Production company | Silicon Media & BlueOcean Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 140 minutes |
Countries | India, US |
Language | English |
Painting Life is a 2018 Indian English film written and directed by Bijukumar Damodaran (commonly known as Dr. Biju). The film was jointly produced by Silicon Media and BlueOcean Pictures and depicts the experience of a film crew who are stranded in a remote Himalayan village. [1] [2]
The crew, led by a Bollywood filmmaker, arrives in the Himalayas to shoot a song and dance sequence for their upcoming blockbuster. However, after torrential downpours and landslides, they find themselves cut off from the outside world with no basic amenities or means of communication, at the mercy of nature.
This scenario describes a common theme in many reality TV shows, particularly those centered around survival, adventure, or cultural exploration. The contrast between the fast-paced, urban lifestyle and the slower, more challenging conditions in a rural or remote setting creates dramatic tension and often serves as a backdrop for personal growth and development among the participants. This theme has been explored in various reality TV formats, each with its unique twist and focus on different aspects of the human experience.
For the director, who has been highly successful commercially, cinema is mainly an entertainment business with no connect to the real world or social issues. He saw the valley as merely a picturesque locale for his shoot. Through a series of intense, he begins to see the world in a different light. His eyes open to the travails of the breathtakingly beautiful land and its beleaguered residents. How these revelations affect the thoughts and priorities of the filmmaker, both on the personal and filmmaking fronts, forms the central theme of the film.
Painting Life is the first English feature film directed by Dr. Biju, whose earlier eight films have won national film awards.
M. J. Radhakrishnan, a 7-time winner of Kerala State Film Awards for Best Cinematography, is behind the camera.
Singaporean composer Mark Chan composed the background score of the film. The sound design, recording and mixing are performed by Jayadevan Chakkadath and Pramod Thomas. The film is co-produced by Silicon Media.
Painting Life [4] is a pan-Indian project with a cast and crew from 10 different Indian states. The cast of the film includes Prakash Bare (Bangalore), Geetanjali Thapa (Mumbai), Ritabhari Chakraborty (Kolkata), Shankar Ramakrishnan (Kerala), Ravi Singh (Mumbai), Purav Goswami (Assam), Meera Vasudevan(Mumbai), Phuntsok Ladakhi (Jammu), Noksha Saham (Arunachal), Kinzong Bhutia (Sikkim), Master Govardhan(Kerala), Tensing Lepcha (Sikkim), Melwyn Williams (Delhi), Krishnan Balakrishnan (Kerala), Yancho Bhutia (Sikkim) and Arjun (Sikkim).
The film is shot [5] [6] entirely in Sikkim, an Indian state that borders China. The movie also talks about the dam construction which has impacted the ecology of this area. A number of NGOs and activists from the state, who continue to work against projects that threaten the ecosystem of Sikkim, were associated with the movie both on and behind the camera.
The history of Sikkim begins with the indigenous Lepcha's contact with early Tibetan settlers. Historically, Sikkim was a sovereign Monarchical State in the eastern Himalayas. Later a protectorate of India followed by a merger with India and official recognition as a state of India. Lepchas were the main inhabitants as well as the Ruler of the land up to 1641. Lepchas are generally considered to be the first people, indigenous to Sikkim also includes Darjeeling.
The International Film Festival of Kerala is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala. The festival is held in November or December every year and is acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India.
T. V. Chandran is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor, predominantly working in Malayalam cinema. Born in a Malayali family in Telicherry, Chandran worked as a Reserve Bank of India employee before entering the film industry. He started his film career as an assistant director to P. A. Backer. He also acted the lead role in Backer's highly acclaimed political drama Kabani Nadi Chuvannappol (1975). He made his directorial debut with the unreleased feature Krishnan Kutty (1981), and followed this with the Tamil film Hemavin Kadhalargal (1985). Chandran came into prominence after Alicinte Anveshanam (1989), which was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival. This was followed with Ponthan Mada (1993), his most famous film to date. Chandran is most known for his art-house films which have references to history and undertones of politics and feminism. He is also known for his trilogy on 2002 Gujarat riots, consisting of Kathavasheshan (2004), Vilapangalkappuram (2008) and Bhoomiyude Avakashikal (2012). Other highly acclaimed films include Mangamma (1997), Dany (2001) and Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam (2003).
Thazhathupurakkal Karunakara Panicker Rajeev Kumar is a National Award-winning Indian director of Malayalam films, from Trivandrum. He is the winner of five Kerala State Film Awards for Best Film, Director, Story Writer & Script Writer, a show director, theatre actor and percussionist (Mridangam). He is a founding member and leader of the musical band Blue Birds in 1980 and Super Mimics, a comedy show in 1979. He is also the Kerala University winner of Mono Act in the University Youth Festivals 1980–1982 and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy winner for Mono Act 1979–1982.
Pakyong is a city and district headquarters of Pakyong district in the Indian state of Sikkim, located in the foothills of the Himalayas. Pakyong Airport is the only airport of Sikkim. The "National Research Centre for Orchids" is also located here.
Sikkimese are people who inhabit the Indian state of Sikkim. The dominance ethnic diversity of Sikkim is represented by 'Lho-Mon-Tsong-Tsum' that identifies origin of three races since seventeenth century. The term 'Lho' refers to Bhutias (Lhopo) means south who migrated from Southern Tibet, the term 'Mon' refers to Lepchas (Rong) lived in lower Eastern Himalayas and the term 'Tsong' refers to Limbus, another tribe of Sikkim. The pre-theocratic phase of Sikkim was inhabited by the Kiratis, “Sikkim is also known as the home of the Kirati tribesmen from the pre-historic times.Society in Sikkim is characterised by multiple ethnicity and possesses attributes of a plural society. The present population of Sikkim is composed of different races and ethnic groups, viz., the Lepchas, the Bhutias, the Nepalis and the Plainsmen, who came and settled in different phases of history. The historic 8 May agreement between Chogyal, Government of India and political parties of Sikkim defines Sikkimese as Sikkimese of Bhutia-Lepcha origin or Sikkimese of Nepali origin including Tsongs and Schedule castes. The community in Sikkim is inclusive of three sub-cultural sectors: the Kiratis, the Newaris and the Indian Gorkhas.
The indigenous people of Sikkim are the Lepchas; the naturalized ethnic populations of Limbus, Bhutias, Kiratis, immigrants such as Indian Gorkha of Nepalese descendants who have an enduring presence in shaping the history of modern Sikkim. The indigeneity criteria for including all peoples of Sikkim and Darjeeling hills is a misnomer as it is clearly known that Lepchas are the first people who trace their origin and culture of their ethnogenesis to the historical and somewhat political geography of Sikkim history as is well documented by colonial and immigrant settler history. However many tribes preceded the migration of the colonial powers and can trace their migratory background as well as ancestral heritage and a well formed history of civilization and cultural locus that is not inherently indigenous to Sikkim.
Saira is a 2005 Indian film starring Navya Nair and Nedumudi Venu. The film marks the directorial debut of Dr. Biju. It was the opening selection in the Tous Les Cinemas du Monde section of 2007 Cannes Film Festival. It also participated in 21 other international film festivals. It was also selected at the Indian Panorama 2006.
Nivin Pauly is an Indian actor and producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He is the recipient of several awards including two Kerala State Film Awards and three Filmfare South awards.
Bijukumar Damodaran, known mononymously as Dr. Biju, is an Indian homoeopathic doctor turned film director and screenwriter. He is best known for films such as Saira (2005), Veettilekkulla Vazhi (2010), Akasathinte Niram (2012), Perariyathavar (2013), Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal (2016), Sound of Silence (2017), Painting Life (2018) and Veyilmarangal (2019).
Veettilekkulla Vazhi is a 2010 Indian Malayalam adventure drama film written and directed by Dr. Biju. The film is about terrorist organizations operating in India and how they recruit young Keralites. It stars Prithviraj, Indrajith and Master Govardhan in main lead roles.
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Prakash Bare is an Indian theater and film actor focusing on Malayalam, English and other south Indian language productions. Starting with the 2010 Malayalam film Sufi Paranja Katha, Prakash has acted in more than 30 films directed by some of the most eminent filmmakers. He is now a live presence in south Indian art house movies and theater scene. Prakash is also a technologist and entrepreneur focusing on VLSI, Software, media production etc. As a social activist, Prakash is involved in the Endosulfan struggle of Kasaragod and is the president of CERV Collectives which secured interim compensation of 5Lakhs for 6000 plus affected patients through a legal campaign
Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi or Kazhcha Film Forum is a film collective in Kerala, India. It started in the year 2001 at Neyyattinkara thaluk in Thiruvananthapuram district as a collective effort of film lovers. It has produced three short films. In the year 2013 the film society has been registered under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955.
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Anuraga Karikkin Vellam is a 2016 Indian Malayalam romantic comedy film directed by debutant Khalid Rahman. It stars Biju Menon, Asif Ali, Asha Sharath and Rajisha Vijayan in lead roles. Written by Naveen Bhaskar, it revolves around the life of an ordinary police man, Raghu, and his son, Abhilash. The soundtrack and background score for the film are composed by Prashant Pillai.
Kaadu Pookkunna Neram is a 2016 Indian Malayalam film written and directed by Dr. Biju. The film is produced by Sophia Paul under the film production house, Weekend Blockbusters. It stars Indrajith Sukumaran as a policeman, who is sent into deep jungles to capture the chief of a radical organization, played by Rima Kallingal, but instead finds himself trapped in it.
Veyilmarangal is a Malayalam language drama film written and directed by Bijukumar Damodaran and produced by Baby Mathew Somatheeram. The film starring Indrans and Prakash Bare has M. J. Radhakrishnan as cinematographer. It revolves around a Dalit family that moves to Himachal Pradesh from Kerala for betterment, but harsh conditions still pursue them.
Orange Marangalude Veedu is a 2020 Malayalam-language film written and directed by Dr. Biju. The film stars Nedumudi Venu, P. Balachandran, Prakash Bare, Lally, Lakshmi Marikar, and Master Yedhu. The film is about a grandfather and grandson. It examines their relationship as well as agriculture, politics, communalism and other socially relevant subjects. It takes place in Thiruvananthapuram, as well as Alappuzha, Wagamon, and Nagpur. The music is by Bijibal. The film is the first Indo-Chinese co-production. It was also the debut of cinematographer Yedhu Radhakrishnan (Kannan), the son of MJ Radhakrishnan.