National-award-winning director Shaji N Karun, whose fantasy drama "Olu" (She) opened the Indian Panorama's feature film section at IFFI, says through the movie, he has tried to present two contrasting ideas about love.
The film is about a gypsy girl who mysteriously survives under the Kerala backwaters where she has been sunk by her rapists. She can only see the world above water during full moon only.
One such night, she meets Vasu, an untalented painter, rowing his boat. She encourages him to create paintings that will change his life. But they have different ideas abut love.
"There are many layers in the film. Cinema can give you a lot of answers. It is not just about storytelling. It's more about the experience.
"The painter could not understand the idea of platonic love between men and women. He was more about the physical love. I wanted to speak about the purity and the innocence of love. There needs to be an understanding that platonic love can exist between the two genders," the director told PTI on the sidelines of the festival.
Karun, who is known for critically-acclaimed films such as "Piravi", "Vaanaprastham" and "Kutty Srank", said he cast Shane Nigam and Esther Anil because they had certain innocence.
"I was looking for innocence and they both have that.
The idea of seeing is also an expression of silence. It was very important in this film because there are so many layers... Both of them, they don't see each other. A painter has to paint something that he has not seen which has to be imagined. The girls says please paint my dreams," he said at a press conference earlier.
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