Samaksham is a 118-minute coming-of-age story centred on a young doctor

While short films and documentaries are not new for centres of education, Mahatma Gandhi University has gone further on the celluloid way and has made a full-length feature film.

Samaksham, a 118-minute coming-of-age story of a young doctor, and perhaps the first feature film produced by any university in the country, is set for a premiere in nine cinemas on Friday. Produced by MGU Creations under the supervision of Registrar M.R. Unni, the movie has been scripted and directed by Aju K. Narayanan and Anwar Abdullah, faculty members of the School of Letters here and Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University respectively.

Shot on locations varying from Kulamavu in Idukki to Ettumanur in Kottayam and parts of Kuttanad, the movie features Kailash, Gayathri Krishna, P. Balachandran, Dileesh Pothen, M.R. Gopakumar, et al.

Samaksham revolves around a medical doctor, Sivaram, played by Kailash, who investigates the economic and environmental instability of the modern farming scene following two deaths. “ It’s a movie about the land, the people who work on it and what must be done to sustain it,” explains Aju K. Narayanan, one of the filmmakers. According to him the plot extensively makes use of imagery and symbolism from several noted works, including The people’s Enemy by Ibsen and Thottiyude Makan and Krishikkaran by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai.

Sparked by a seminar

The idea of making a feature film was pitched during an international seminar on organic farming, organised by the Inter-University Centre for Organic Farming and Sustainable Agriculture, MGU, in April.

“The initial idea was to create a light-and-sound show on organic farming but we eventually decided on making a feature film to outlive the transient nature of such shows,” the director added. The film has two songs composed by Abi Salwin.