Poovu, a film by cinematographer Anish Babu Abbas, takes viewers together with the characters on a highway journey. It is the metaphorical journey as properly, the place the protagonist’s life comes full circle.
As he drives by picturesque landscapes — lush fields, bridges, forests and tree-lined vistas, his life unspools. From the snatches of dialog he has along with his mom and spouse within the automotive, the viewers get a peek into Jeevan’s seemingly uncomplicated, but well-lived life.
“Jeevan is in his 50s, at that age when one takes stock of one’s life and looks back on it tenderly. There’s love, loss and a sense of freedom,” says Anish Babu Abbas, who directed the film together with Binoy George. Poovu is Anish’s debut directorial. He can also be the director of pictures and has penned the story.
Told at a languid tempo, the narrative strikes between the true and the imaginary seamlessly and the viewers are gently led into Jeevan’s world. Though it pivots on him, the film shines the highlight on the highly effective ladies in his life.
A nonetheless from ‘Poovu’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Love and loss
During the highway journey, Jeevan suggests they (mom, spouse and himself) play a sport. Each one is requested to make a want and the others are sure to assist fulfil it. While his mom needs to observe a peaceable sundown, indicating that she yearns for a while by herself after taking up the duties of elevating him and working a enterprise, his spouse says she needs to put on a T shirt and shorts, most likely suggesting a want for freedom from the constraints of what is taken into account “ideal” for girls; Jeevan himself expresses his want to satisfy his first love, who later turns into a further passenger within the automotive. Jeevan’s daughter’s presence is invoked by the telephone calls she makes by the journey.
A nonetheless from ‘Poovu’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“While it is a man whose experiences are being portrayed, it is the women in his life that take centrestage,” says Anish, who began his profession as a cinematographer helping Venu. He has assisted different cinematographers too in Malayalam akin to Sunny Joseph, Sabu James and Mani Prasad.
He has carried out unbiased cinematography for the Indrans-starrer Lona, Aana Mayil Ottakam, and Out of Range to say a number of.
The viewer feels that the film has feminist ideology at its core. The mom raised Jeevan to have the ability to cook dinner an honest meal for himself. He can also be not the quintessential robust man, who all the time has the whole lot found out. He breaks down when he loses his approach in a railway station and it’s his spouse who finds him and “rescues” him. It is in his daughter that he confides a secret want and it’s his former girlfriend who first stops him from smoking.
The title (Poovu), explains Anish, likens human life to a flower blown gently to the bottom on a breezy day. The 82-minute film had its first world premiere in January 2024. It gained one of the best film and greatest actor awards on the Nepal Cultural International Film Festival in 2025, the Kerala Film Critics Award 2023 for greatest supporting actress (KPAC Leela) and gained the fifteenth J C Daniel Foundation Award for second greatest film.
It has additionally gained one of the best journey and discovery function award on the Mannheim Arts & Film Festival, Germany (2023), along with a bronze in one of the best function narrative competitors class on the Hurghada Youth Film Festival, Egypt, in 2024 and one of the best cinematography award within the Titan International Film Festival, Sydney, in 2025.
The film was produced by Anish and Santhoshkumar (Pinks Visual Space); the screenplay is by Johnson V Devassy. Edited by Rashin Ahmed, the background rating is by Ninoy Varghese. KPAC Leela has portrayed Shyamala, Jeevan’s mom; Sandhya, his spouse, has been portrayed by Sruthi Vipin; Shanti Rao performs his love curiosity Naziya Hassan and Meenakshi Anoop performs his daughter Yama. Manjulan Okay V performs Jeevan.
The film is on its pageant run.
Published – February 27, 2025 04:00 pm IST
