Shouldering the responsibility of a bank manager is no walk in the park these days, but Abhilash Purushothaman takes it all in the right spirit. Despite his hectic schedule, Abhilash finds time to pen stories. The short film Akam Puram, written and directed by Abhilash, is inspired by a sight he comes across regularly. “A handcuffed criminal accompanied by a police officer is something we see every other day. I too have seen it while travelling by bus or train. Both the police and the criminal are there temporarily because of a particular situation; I gave more thought to it and developed it into a story.”
Akam Puram, starring actors Sarath Das and Prem Lal, narrates the journey of two police officers who accompany a jailbird to the court for a case submission and a few unavoidable situations they face on the way. The short film went onto earn an official selection to the famous Hackney International Film Festival, London, enter the final round of the 2nd Asia Pacific Short Film Festival held in China and win the Adoor Bhasi Film Award for Best Screenplay.
“I just got informed a day ago that the movie has made it way to the Kolkata Film Festival,” he says. Abhilash, a branch manager at a private bank in the capital, says, “I have so far not given any story for a short film, I just write stories and discuss it with friends. I have not published any of my stories as it is hard to find time amidst the job.”
Speaking more about how he found time to direct Akam Puram, Abhilash says, “I've had this story in my mind for some time. I decided to shoot it during my privilege leave period. It took us just one day and the entire film was shot in seven hours. Actor Sharath, who plays one of the police officers, is a friend of mine, but he was busy with a TV programme and asked if we could arrange the shoot on a date of his convenience. And we pulled it off in a day; it was not easy though.” He owes it all to the team. “We had a good team, a good number of fresh faces and a hardworking crew who put in their best.”
