Shareef Easa (a) Shareef Eesa, a rubber plantation worker by profession made a film called Kanthan The Lover of Colour. The film had a child artist Prajith in the titular role, while a local activist Dayabai plays the role of his grandmother. The film grabbed all the eyeballs by winning the Best Film award at the Kerala State film awards.
The director faced a lot of financial difficulties working on the film. He had to take a loan by pledging his wife's jewels, and since the money wasn't enough for post-production work, he sold his camera too. Once he received the award, he returned to work, the very next day.
Kanthan, about a child and his grandmother battling poverty and deforestation, was selected as Best Film from among 104 titles by a jury led by director Kumar Shahani. On winning the award, he said, this is going to be great help for him, as the recognition can help him ask for more time to repay the loan.
Shareef is a daily wage Rubber plantation worker and has been in this profession for close to 15 years. He earns around 600 rupees every day by tapping rubber from 300 trees. Kanthan has been entirely shot in an Adivasi hamlet in Wayanad – the Nengara colony of the Adiya tribe.
It is the first movie in the Ravula dialect spoken by the Adiyas. The background music uses traditional Adivasi musical instruments. Pramod Kooveri wrote the screenplay, while the cinematography was done by the director's friend Priyan.
This story will definitely inspire the young filmmakers to trust their art and make good films. Catch the trailer of the beautiful film below:
DAILY WAGE WORKER MAKES A FILM AND WINS TOP AWARD! VIDEO
