There are no two opinions on the fact that Rajesh James, who works as an Assistant Professor of English and Film Studies at Sacred Hearts College, Kochi, is an emerging talent in filmmaking. Now, the stamp of recognition comes from the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, where his documentary Naked Wheels bagged the award for the best documentary while he was adjudged Emerging Film Maker. Says the maker of the only movie to be selected from Kerala, “Mainstream cinema can never accept a story that shows homosexual or transgender love. Moreover we are living in a country where the Constitution has criminalised such a relation.”
He elaborates on the documentary: “We took six months to complete this film. Since I work in a college, all the travelling was done during vacation. The shooting and the journey began from Kochi. I travelled with the crew to Goa in a truck and then back to Kochi. In fact, the movie shows a group of people who belong to different identities just sit in a truck and travel through south Indian states and discuss various topics. We also tracked the life of the truck driver — Ashokan — who transports sanitary napkins.”
He adds: “There were 51 films from 45 countries competing with Naked Wheels. It was not exactly a planned movie. My concept was to make a film on a journey and thought that I must address the issues associated with gender, not just man or woman. It is not a film that focuses only on transgenders but one that tracks the journey of people and their struggles and efforts.”
Rajesh has already shot his next one called Earth, Water and Air and has several ideas including the thread for a mainstream movie.
