For Merchant Navy officers Sreekanth E.G. and Adith U.S., the path to making a film of their own has been long, initially trying out their hand at short films and later deciding to take the plunge to making a full-fledged film after taking a hiatus from work.

When their second film School Chale Hum, a Malayalam children's film with fantasy elements, was one of the six children's films under consideration for the 55th Kerala State Film Awards last year, they had high hopes. However, the declaration came as a rude shock for them. The jury chose not only to give any award for any of the six films in the children’s film category, but went on to comment that "none of them were from a child’s viewpoint" and that "the young actors were not speaking their age."

Interesting concept

This criticism appears harsh especially in the case of School Chale Hum, since a good part of the film has only children doing child-like things. The film, which has an interesting concept at its core, is now finding an audience after its recent release on an OTT platform. Though limited in scope by its shoestring budget and issues in its execution, the film is still noteable for the honesty of its intent and the earnestness of its lead cast.

"The jury's comments were a bit shocking for us. But on the same day, the film was selected for a children's film festival in Finland. That came as a relief, especially because the criticism was that the film did not have children's perspective," says Mr. Adith.

When it was decided to shoot the film in Sreekanth's hometown Kannur, they identified Kammaran Master Memorial UP School, Morazha, as a suitable location. When they conducted an audition among the children at the school, they found a set of young actors who could fit perfectly into their narrative.

10-day schedule

"We could shoot at the school only for 10 days, during the vacation. On the first two days, a camp was organised for the children, which helped them ease into the whole filmmaking process as well as helped us build a rapport with them. With clear planning, we managed to finish the shooting inside the school within the 10 days. Now we are happy that more people are finally watching the film. It is still a struggle for independent films to get any attention," says Mr. Adith.