An inmate of the Cheemeni open jail here has donated ₹1 lakh to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. Shah Thachillam, 50, of Thommana, near Irinjalakuda, donated ₹1 lakh from the remuneration he got for the script of a film he wrote from the jail.
Shah is one of the eight script writers for the film Ekan, Anekan directed by Chidambara Pazhaniyappan. “A film-making workshop, which was organised in the Cheemeni open jail in 2018, as part of the Jail Rehabilitation Project – Transition Trough Creation - encouraged me to write the script. I used to write poems before,” said Shah. Chidambara Pazhaniyappan was on the team which conducted the workshop in the jail.
At the end of the 15-day workshop, the inmates had prepared a short film ABCD based on Shah’s script. A documentary Viswasathinte Mathilukal (Walls of Belief), prepared by 21 inmates who attended that workshop was also well appreciated.
₹3 lakh spent
“The jail officials organised the film-making workshop by spending ₹3 lakh. Those who attended that workshop decided to return that money to the government when we get an opportunity. This prompted me to give the money I got for the script of Ekan Anekan to the CM’s relief fund,” Shah said.
Shah, who has been undergoing imprisonment since 2011 in a murder case happened 30 years back when he was just 20. A collection of his 70 poems, which he sent to his friend Shaji Francis in post cards, was published as ‘Thadavarayile Dhyana Nimishangal’. Shah, who is currently on parole, will return to the Cheemeni jail on Friday.
Jail Welfare Officer K. Lakshmi handed over Shah’s cheque of ₹1 lakh to District Collector Haritha V. Kumar on Wednesday.
