Change is the law of life and of late, Malayalam film industry seems to be embracing change in never-before-tried ways, although one step at a time. When we take a close look at the choices made while picking a crew for a film, one can see a little light shining at the end of a long tunnel. Although an evident lack of confidence lingers in the air amongst industry seniors, surprisingly, some of them have decided to prefer talent over gender.
Here are some bold and career-oriented women who have braved the odds and treaded on the unfamiliar roads of the ‘men-only’ Mollywood realm. They share their journey and speak their minds as to why most women chose to keep away from taking up technical roles in the industry.
Uma Kumarapuram has been here in the industry since 2011. After working in 10 films as the assistant cinematographer, Uma shares what she learnt from the journey so far. “Predominantly, it’s a boys club. Although there are female hairdressers, actresses and stylists, there are very few who work behind the camera on the playground.”
Uma, whose latest work was with late director Rajesh Pillai for the Hindi version of Traffic, says, “At times, it might be frustrating; there are hardly any girls on the sets. It’s all men and one could also get a tad bit self-conscious at times. As far as I’m concerned, I know the technical side of what I am handling.”
When asked about lack of confidence on the part of the director or cinematographer when she started off in the industry, she says, “Almost all of them were a bit short on confidence when it came to a girl cranking the camera. But, if you have done the job right, it doesn’t make any difference to the viewers if it’s a lady or not.” Director Merlin Babu, who started off in late 2013 as an assistant director, points out why girls continue to stay away from taking on the techie role in the industry.
“There is a taboo that still exists about the field. My family was completely against me joining this industry despite knowing what I do. Unless we become successful they don’t trust what we do.” Merlin, who has worked as an assistant director in Munnariyippu, goes onto say, “It is a mentally and physically taxing job. One can survive in the industry only if their passion is genuine.” Merlin, who also directed award-winning short film Laddoo, says that at times female technicians are roped in to make the female actor feel comfortable on the sets.
“If there is a female lead, female assistant directors are at times asked to join the crew and are placed under the costume department from where they can learn nothing about shooting. They hardly get to see it.” She goes onto say, “Luckily for me, all the directors I have worked under were really good, the experiences were equally enriching.”
Lakshmi Pavithran, who has been in the industry for the past four years as assistant cinematographer, says, “It’s definitely a man’s world for sure but it’s the excitement towards the craft that keeps you going.” She adds, “I think there are lot more number of women joining the industry now. People are more receptive to women.” Lakshmi assists cinematographer Madhu Ambat.
It was ace cinematographer Fowzia Fathima who was the game-changer when it came to women behind the camera. Fowzia had a different take on the lack of women joining the industry. “If a woman is in the crew then the barrier has already been broken. I don’t think there are any women cinematographers who have done individual projects in malayalam. Anjuli Shukla did Kutty Srank and I did Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai and Gulumaal : The Escape. If you have a good mentor who can recommend you, that helps break the barrier. Malayalam is a different ball game and there are hardly any female cinematographers here,” she says. Fowzia goes onto ask, “How many of the senior cinematographers give any of these young assistants a chance to execute their own project?”
