The fact that a Malayalam film with the word “virgin” in its title is entering into its third week at the theatres in the state is an indication that perhaps, a new wave in Malayalam cinema may be around the corner. ‘Kanyaka Talkies’ (Virgin Talkies) is the story of a B-grade theatre-turned-church, the intricacies of the people associated with it, their lives, and more. Although completed in 2013, the film was released in theatres on July 10 this year. The film’s director KR Manoj sees positive change in the way the audience and the industry have received the film, and believe that there exists a huge crowd – both young and old alike – who value alternative cinema. “I don’t know how such a perception that experimental cinema is not received well by the audience must have come into being. It is more or less consciously generated by distributors, producers and theatre owners,” Manoj feels. Independent film makers tend to view national and international film festivals as a platform to reach out to an audience that is open to off-beat films. In fact, director Sudevan says that his film ‘CR NO. 89’ was not intended to have a theatre release at all. The film hit the theatres in Kerala on July 5 but was screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala in December 2013. “My general practice is to screen my films at film festivals, this is my first theatrical release,” he says, satisfied at the positive reception of the film. Kanyaka Talkies has “two lives” – one, in the vernacular audience and another in the international market, Manoj says, adding, “When the film was well received at international film festivals, as a director, it is important to realize that independent films do have an audience in Kerala as well.” When there is a Malayali audience for international films, how does one believe that the same audience will not watch such films when made in their own language, Manoj asks. Director Manoj, however, considers film festivals a platform to publicize his films, especially when independent film makers cannot afford to have promotional campaigns that run into crores of rupees. A difficult road While it is a film maker’s individual choice to follow the ‘industry formula’ of producing big budget commercial films, Manoj says that an independent film maker goes through a lot of hurdles before the release of a film. “From having a good team to funding to getting distributors, making a film outside the industry formula is very challenging. ‘Kanyaka Talkies’ did not get any international funding, it has been funded by a group of eighteen individuals”. Kanyaka Talkies will see two online releases and a digital cable release soon. The film can be viewed online for fee of $3 for SD and $5 for HD quality. “Producing off-beat cinema with not-so-explored themes is one thing, covering the production cost is different story. Even though the film is doing well in theatres, we have not been able to recover the production cost yet”, says Manoj. Government support Like a lot of other film makers, Manoj holds that the 1980s was the vibrant age of Malayalam cinema, when directors like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, John Abraham, Pavithran, Padmarajan and Bharatan took Malayalam cinema to another level with novelty and vibrancy in their scripts. With the Kerala State Film Development Corporation’s (KSFDC) decision to screen two films of independent film makers every month, a number of films that earlier found it difficult to get a slot at the theatres find it a welcome move. Manoj says that a group of independent film makers including Sajin Babu, Sudevan, Vipin Vijay, B Ajith Kumar, Geethu Mohandas and others had been trying to get their films screened by KSFDC for over a year. “The earlier administration of the government agency made it nearly impossible for our films to get a slot. However, with the new management under Chairman Rajmohan Unnithan (who took charge in April), the scenario has changed for the better”, Manoj says. A lot of films from the new-age film makers re-create foreign films in the name of adaptation, Manoj says. “The lack of vitality in our own films is the main reasons for this tendency. Therefore, it is indeed a positive change for both the industry and the audience when independent film makers get a platform to tell their stories.”