'Uyare' uplifting film about acid attack survivor: Manu Ashokan

Director of ‘Uyare’ Shri Manu Ashokan and producers- Smt Shenuga and Smt Sherga participated in a press conference to share the story and contemporary relevance of their socially relevant movie.

Those who are subjected to acid attacks are often portrayed as victims by society and media. But there are many who fights the trauma associated with an acid attack and grab back their freedom like a phoenix rising from its ashes. Survivors will be the apt term for describing them. ‘Uyare’ a Malayalam movie at IFFI’s Indian Panorama session is an uplifting film about an acid attack survivor who triumphs despite the odds stacked up against her. 

Director of ‘Uyare’ Shri Manu Ashokan and producers- Smt Shenuga and Smt Sherga participated in a press conference to share the story and contemporary relevance of their socially relevant movie.  Director of the non-feature film ‘ ‘The Secret Life of Frogs’ also joined the conversation and spoke about his national award-winning film. 

Elaborating the genesis of the movie, Shri Manu Ashokan said that the film is inspired by real-life stories. “We have seen many women going through toxic relationships. We wanted to share those stories with the society through Pallavi, the protagonist, and her relationship”, he said. 

Talking about a Hindi film also being made on the same subject and comparisons, Shri Ashokan said, “Chhapaak is a biopic while Uyare is a fictional story inspired by real-life incidents and people.”

Smt. Shenuga and Smt Sherga spoke about how important it is for women to come out and speak about the issues that they are facing.

Elaborating on his movie, Shri Ajay Bedi said that 'The Secret Life of Frogs' is India's first film on amphibians. “ The film was shot in the Western Ghats and it took three years to complete it. We have shot with many species but have shown around six to seven species in the film which are critically endangered. There were many challenges like finding the frogs, heavy rains, and chances of getting an infection. Technological advances like modern cameras have made things a bit easier,” he said. 

On a note of advice to youngsters making wildlife films, Shri Bedi said that one has to understand the animal she picks for film and have to do a lot of research on that. “ Though we have to go with a script based on research, it has to be modified with the sequences we shoot,” he added. 

He also pointed out the factors like deforestation, degradation of habitat and frog poaching that lead to the depletion of the frog population. He cautioned, “ Frogs are like biometers of environment. If the frog population is enough in an environment, it denotes the surroundings are healthy. If they are not there, it rings the alarm bells of warning. Things that affect frogs can ultimately affect humans”. 

(With Inputs from PIB)