Cyclone Ockhi claimed scores of lives, leaving many families in the city’s coastal areas devastated.
Young Aldo A. Clement who lost an uncle in the cyclone had first-hand experience of tragic loss. From his desire to share his experience and that of many others was born Aakama (‘Aa Kattum Mazhayum’), a 15-minute short film that has now earned him a Grandmaster certification from Asia Book of Records for being the youngest to direct a short film based on cyclone Ockhi at the young age of 17 years and 11 months. He also has received an India Book of Records certificate.
Aldo, who is now a second-year BCom. student of St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru, says he had been working on the film for almost a year during his schooling at St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School here when the first lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 was announced, and the script and even some of the cast had to be changed in keeping with restrictions and safety protocols. The four days of shooting with limited cast and crew at Poonthura was quite a challenge, but Aldo was sure he wanted to base it on Ockhi.
His close friends and schoolmates Naveen B. Raj and Akash J.S. handled the cinematography, Akash Shanavas editing, Ajmal Jaleed music. All the production work, under the banner of Team i crew, had to be done by them on their laptops, with only the dubbing done in a studio. The cast too comprised his school friends.
The film was shot on a tight budget, with the friends dipping into their own resources, and even Aldo’s sister’s scholarship money. The film was uploaded on YouTube a year ago and promoted by a few directors and actors on their social media accounts.
His school was a huge support, says Aldo who has acted in a few scenes in Udaharanam Sujatha and was associated with the directorial team.
Team i crew’s earlier short film on the dangers of cyberspace Ennilninnu Akalekku had won the State Institute of Educational Technology’s four awards, including the award for best scriptwriter.
Aldo says he had not been expecting the records’ recognition and was even more glad when he received congratulatory calls from political leaders such as Shibu Baby John, N.K. Premachandran, Operation Java director Tharun Moorthy and actor Vijayakumar.
After his studies, Aldo wants to pursue his passion for films.
