Sanal Kumar Sasidharan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 8 April 1977 Perumkadavila, Kerala, India |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | film directing |
| Notable work | Sexy Durga |
| Spouse | Sreeja (m. 2002;div. 2022) |
| Parents |
|
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan (born 8 April 1977) is an Indian poet, lawyer, and filmmaker. [2] [3]
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan was born in Perumkadavila village, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala on 8 April 1977. [4] He graduated in Zoology from VTM NSS College Dhanuvachapuram, Trivandrum and law, then started his job as a lawyer. [5] He was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organization associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, and was the unit secretary of the ABVP during his days at the Law College. He later left ABVP over political differences, and became a critic of the BJP-controlled Central government. [6] In 2001, he formed a film society, Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi [7] with his colleagues, for making independent movies through crowd funding. [8] He has started his film making journey by directing three short films and one feature film through crowdfunding. Later on, he directed six more critically acclaimed feature films and a documentary. [9] He was awarded the Best Director in the Kerala State Film Awards 2014. [10] He was awarded the Tiger Award in the International Film Festival Rotterdam for his film Sexy Durga.
His film career started in 2000 as an art assistant in the Malayalam film Mankolangal. [11] In 2001, he made his first short film Wonder World, with cinematography by Sunny Joseph, editing by Beena Paul and production by Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi through crowd funding. In 2008 he directed Parole produced by a group of friends from Malayalam blog community. His third short film Frog, won a Kerala State Television Award for best short film in 2008. [12] In 2014 Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi produced his first feature-length movie Oraalppokkam for which he had been awarded the Best Director. The film has got fipresci and Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema awards for the best Malayalam film in the International Film Festival of Kerala 2014. He has also bagged the Kerala State Film Award for Best Director in 2014. His second movie Ozhivudivasathe Kali (An Off-Day Game), which was completed in 2015 was officially selected for the International Film Festival of Kerala and Mumbai Film Festival. It was also awarded the Kerala State Film Awards, best film in 2015. The film was in the Film Basar Recommends in the Film Basar in Goa. [13]
His next film after Sexy Durga , Unmadiyude Maranam produced in 2018 has not been censored and released. The film was not screened in any major film festivals. [14]
His next feature film Chola premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival in the Orizzonti Competition section. [15] The main actors, Nimisha Sajayan has received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress and actor Joju George has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actor and Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention for Direction and Sound design to Sanal Kumar Sasidharan. [16]
His sixth feature film project Ah'r (Kayattam), announced in 2019 has been noted for the presence of acclaimed Malayalam actress Manju Warrier as protagonist and a co-producer. [17] The film was premiered in the Busan International Film Festival in the year 2020 and nominated for Kim Jiseok Award. [18] The film has also been screened in the International Film Festival of Kerala in 2021 under the Malayalam Cinema Today category. [19] Kayattam has also competed in the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in August 2021 and Sanal Kumar Sasidharan was awarde the first "Disruptor in Cinema Award". The film was entirely shot using iPhone camera in the Himalayan peaks. [18] Later the film also won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography to its cinematographer Chandru Selvaraj and coulourist Liju Prabhakar for the excellence in colour grading in the 51st Kerala State Film Awards. [20]
He has made another feature film immediately after Kayattam with Tovino Thomas as hero titled, Vazhakku. Tovino Thomas has co-produced the film along with Sanal Kumar Sasidharan. The film premiered in the International Film Festival of South Asia - Seoul 2022 under the theme of “Journey to South Asia through the Movie”. [21] The film has also been screened in the International Film Festival of Kerala in the Malayalam Cinema Today section in December 2022 and received rave reviews. [22] Huge audience influx to watch Vazhakk caused the delegates to protest in front of the theatre alleging that many who had not reserved seats through prior online booking were allowed to attend the theatre [23]
Sasidharan's 2017 film Sexy Durga, was renamed as S Durga following controversy of the original title which was banned by the Indian Central Board of Film Certification. The film S Durga (Sexy Durga), received the Hivos Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2017, [24] making it the first ever Indian film win this award. [25] The film, cinematographed by Prathap Joseph also has won eight more international awards including the Award for Professional Achievement in the Tarkovsky Film Festival in Russia for the excellence in cinematography, [26] the Golden Apricot Award in the International Feature Competition category in Yerevan International Film Festival 2017, [27] Best International Feature Narrative in Guanajuato International Film Festival, Mexico Expresión en Corto International Film Festival 2017, [28] Best International Feature award Reflet d’Or in the Geneva International Film Festival, [29] The Young Jury award and a Special mention from the official Jury in the 53rd Pesaro Film Festival in Italy, [30] Jury Mention for Direction and Original Music track in Cinema Jove - International Film Festival of Valencia, Spain, Special Jury mention in the 19th Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI). The work in progress project of the film had also received NFDC FILM BAZAAR – DI Award 2016. [31] The film faced huge controversy making headlines following the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India) denying permission to screen the film in the International Film Festival of India after Jury selection, due to the title. [32]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Athisayalokam | Short film Crowd funded by Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi [33] |
| 2008 | Parole | Short film Blog cinema from Malayalam blogosphere [34] |
| 2012 | Frog | Short film Awarded as the best short film in the Kerala State Television Awards 2012 [35] [36] |
| 2014 | Oraalppokkam | First feature film First online crowd funded feature film in Malayalam [37] [38] |
| 2015 | Ozhivudivasathe Kali | Feature film 2015 Kerala State Film Award for Best Film |
| 2017 | Sexy Durga | Feature film [39] 2017 Hivos Tiger Award International Film Festival Rotterdam [40] |
| 2018 | Unmadiyude Maranam | Feature film [41] |
| 2019 | Chola | Feature film [42] 2019 Orizonti Competition Venice Film Festival [43] |
| 2020 | Ah'r Kayyattam | Feature film 2020 Nomination for Kim Jiseok Award Busan International Film Festival [44] |
| 2021 | Vazhakku | Feature film [45] Premiered in the IFFSA-SEOL [46] and officially selected in the International Film Festival of Kerala [47] |
Adoor Gopalakrishnan is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film Swayamvaram (1972), Gopalakrishnan pioneered the new wave in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s. In a career spanning over five decades, Gopalakrishnan has made only 12 feature films to date. His films are made in the Malayalam language and often depict the society and culture of his native state Kerala. Nearly all of his films premiered at Venice, Cannes and Toronto International Film Festival. Along with Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, Gopalakrishnan is one of the most recognized Indian film directors in world cinema.
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.
Madhupal Kannambathu is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works in Malayalam cinema. Madhupal made his acting debut with Kashmeeram in 1994 and his directorial debut with Thalappavu (2008), which was about Naxal Varghese and won several awards in 2008.
Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj, is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry.
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Director is an honour presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India since 1969. It is given to a film director who has exhibited outstanding direction while working in the Malayalam film industry. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Since 1998, the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous non-profit organisation functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs, has been exercising control over the awards. The recipients are decided by an independent jury formed by the academy. They are declared by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the Chief Minister.
Venkiteswaran Chittur Subramanian is an Indian film critic, professor, documentary filmmaker, writer and occasional subtitler from Chalakudi, Kerala, India, who writes predominantly in English and Malayalam. He won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2009 and shared the National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film with M.R. Rajan for directing the documentary film, Pakarnattam in 1995.
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.
Oraalppokkam is a Malayalam film written and directed by Sanalkumar Sasidharan. It is the first Malayalam movie which has been produced through online crowdfunding program. This is an initiative of Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi, a film society movement based in Thiruvananthapuram. Kazhcha has a history of producing short movies with the financial contribution from film lovers. Oraalppokkam is the fourth venture of Kazhcha. It is claimed that Oraalppokkam will be copyleft after 5 years from the date of release.
Rajshri Deshpande is an Indian actress. She gained international recognition for her performance in Pan Nalin's drama film Angry Indian Goddesses. She then portrayed the title character in Sanal Kumar Sasidharan's Sexy Durga and received critical acclaim for her performance in the Netflix series Sacred Games. In 2023, Deshpande won Best Actress in a Drama Series at the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards, for her work in Trial by Fire.
Ozhivu Divasathe Kali is a 2015 Indian Malayalam indie drama film directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, based on the short story of the same name by Unni R. The film follows five middle-aged men who get together for a booze party during an election holiday in Kerala. It won the 46th Kerala State Film Award for Best Film. The film was included in The Hindu's top 25 Malayalam films of the decade and is widely regarded as one of the defining movies of the Malayalam New Wave.
Sexy Durga is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language indie horror film directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan. The film is about the religious divide in the society of Kerala and its effect on marriage between two people from two different religious backgrounds.
Jiji Panaparampil Joseph, also known as Jijimon Joseph is a location sound recordist, sound designer and film editor in Indian film industry. He won the first ever Kerala State Film Award 2014 for location sound recording for the film Oraalppokkam and the consecutive year for the film Ozhivudivasathe Kali in fraternization with Sandeep Kurissery. He has fashioned his film career collaborating on feature films and short films in Malayalam cinema.
Niv Art Movies is a film production company in New Delhi state, India established in the year 2008. Shaji Mathew, a Delhi based Malayali is the proprietor of the firm. It has produced 6 Malayalam films 5 out of the 6 films produced by the company are directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan
The Kazhcha-Niv Independent Film Festival (KNIFF) is a film festival for independent cinema in India held annually in Thiruvananthapuram. The festival debuted in 2017, and is hosted by Kazhcha Chalachithra Vedi, a local film society, in collaboration with Niv Art Centre, an Art and Cultural society in New Delhi. The festival is held in December parallel to the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
Chola is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language psychological drama film directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan and produced by Joju George, and co-produced by Shaji Mathew and Aruna Mathew. The film stars Joju George, Nimisha Sajayan and Akhil Viswanath.
Oru Rathri Oru Pakal is a 2019 Indian Malayalam film written and directed by Prathap Joseph, His fourth film as a cinematographer-director, is set and filmed in Shoranur and stars Yamuna Chungappalli and Mari in the lead roles. It references of honour killing.
Prathap Joseph is an Indian journalist, cinematographer and filmmaker.
Chandru Selvaraj is an Indian cinematographer who works in the Malayalam film industry. He has received two Kerala State Film Award, one for Kayattam (2020) and another for Vazhakku.
Vazhakku (transl. Quarrel) is a 2022 Malayalam film directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan and starring Tovino Thomas, Kani Kusruti, Sudev Nair, and Azees Nedumangad. The film is about a lawyer named Siddharthan who is going through a divorce. He meets a woman named Sathi and her daughter, who are also going through a divorce. The two families form a bond and help each other through their difficult times.