Sangeeta, who has more than nine years of working experience in the print media and television, has an intense passion for cinema and is associated with films like The White Elephant (directed by Aijaz Khan) and Waiting Room (directed by Maneej Premnath). She has ventured into documentary filmmaking too. Her Charulatayude Baakki, is based on a story by well-known writer Priya A.S. and “set in the mindscape of a young, unmarried girl as she grooms herself for the ‘marriage market’”. With popular film-star Padmapriya in the lead, the film has Vineeth in a key-role. The cast also includes Vanitha, Dinesh Panicker and Stella.
It narrates the story of young Amritha, the only daughter of aristocratic, upper middle-class parents based in Cochin. A girl with individuality, Amritha is never able to relate to her parent’s aspirations about her life and her marriage. She loves her college mate who dreams of making a trilogy Satyajit Ray’s Charulata. But Amritha finally opts to get into another marriage, owing to parental pressures. It’s from here that the film takes off.
Says Sangeeta, “I wanted to make a film which will reflect on my sensibilities as a person and my aesthetics as a professional. I think this story which has the potential to launch my career.” She is also all praise for her lead artistes. “The film would not have been made on this scale, if not for Padmapriya. She was part of this project ever since its germination. She is perhaps the only person who really travelled through various stages of scripting…Vineeth had agreed to do the film only because he liked the script. His acting gave a completely new dimension to his character.”
Padmapriya, who plays Amritha says, “The film is special to me as it is my first short film. A short film is a challenge for every performer... I like Satyajit Ray’s Charulata, a character who is an amalgamation of all human feelings”.
Charulatayude Baakki produced under the banner of Mustard Productionz has cinematography by Shehnad Jalal, editing by C.S.Manoj and music by John. P. Varkey.
