What a ‘short’!

An electrical engineer by profession, he often delves into his passion to create visually intriguing tales. Aspiring filmmaker Akarsha Kamala’s latest offering is a Kannada short film titled Mareechi, which showcases the sublime Bengaluru and portrays the relationship between the city and its people. Talking about how the project happened, he says, “Recently, Aravind Kaushik, the director of Huliraaya held a contest asking people to make short films based on three themes. One of the themes was ‘The city and its people’. I had always questioned the city I was brought up in, wondering if she was angry or happy considering the way she has evolved. I decided to jump in and present my take on the theme.”

Mareechi, he says, means ‘mirage’ and also signifies ‘bright and intense’ light. “I’ve seen Bengaluru change beyond recognition. The city offers a lot of opportunities to people who come in search of it. Some succeed and some fail. Their outlook changes based on how quickly their dreams are realised or shattered. The film offers three different perspectives — as seen through the city herself, as seen by an immigrant and another, by a homeless man,” he shares.

This ambitious filmmaker was brought up in a culturally strong environment, thanks to his mother MR Kamala, who is a well-known Kannada poet. Having done his Masters in California and worked in France and Switzerland, he credits his mom for introducing him to cinema. “She gave me the freedom and engaged me with literature and world movies that defined my outlook towards life. I had a fascination for books, which were out of the syllabus (especially by authors like Keshava Malagi, Poornachandra Tejaswi and Chinua Achebe) which motivated me to escape from the humdrum of this life and explore something creative.”

Akarsha started out as an essayist and moved on to writing poems in Kannada and English. With a strong urge to blend his passion for movies and literature, he decided to make short films and launched his production house Kathana along with his sister. His debut short film Present Sir bagged awards and nominations at international film festivals. “It talked about the condition of the Government Kannada-medium border schools and raised important questions that were waiting to be explored. Most importantly, it threw light on the education system by presenting an unbiased look at the situation,” he reveals.

As for his future plans, the cinema aficionado wants to continue to direct stories that broadly talk about language, culture, roots, identity crisis, materialism etc. “I’d like to produce and direct Kannada content and reach global audience through international film festivals.  For me, the short film medium is extraordinary. To be able to tell stories that people relate to in a challengingly limited time and space drives me to excel.”