ART TRANSCENDS EVERYTHING: SHAJI N KARUN

Drum, a robust instrument and Mohiniyattam, a delicate dance form cannot go together, but Malayalam film maker Shaji N Karun has ventured to take them together. ‘Art transcends everything. So is the art of sound for a male drummer and the body for a female danseuse. Two Indian classical forms based on dance and drum are used to tell the vibrations of two souls, through the crafts of Cinema-sound and visual. The sound that enthralls a dancer, does not come from a hollow covered with leather that is called drum, it comes from the heart, said Shaji.

He was briefing the media after screening of his film ‘Swapaanam’ at 45TH IFFI today. Replying to a question, he said on one hand the digital technology has helped film making, it has also killed traditional skills at the same time. But more important with an artist is, he burns himself like a candle to enlighten the society.

In Swapaanam, Unni, unequelled in playing the ‘chenda’ and Nalini, peerless in Mohiniyattam, are attracted to each other. Their passion cannot hold up against the tumults of Unni’s life. A brother and a father figure, whose love sours to jealousy and hate, a wife who despises his drumming and a mother from whom the truth about his birth is not forthcoming, all hasten the tempo to an inevitable dark end.