Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity. The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

If you don't create change, change will create you. Change starts when someone sees the next step and the first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. Many fine things can be done in a day if you don't always make that day tomorrow. You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.

Sometimes it's the smallest decisions with larger aims that can change the lives of many. If our attempts can at least become a spark. We are really grateful and the TEAM can proudly proclaim ‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’.

If you can LEND A HELPING HAND for the advancement of our country and its people be part of our ENDEAVOR.


Wednesday, January 30, 2013

AKHSHAYAPATHRA POISED TO TAKE A NEW SHAPE AND DIRECTION

‘LAMPS TO ILLUMINATE A MILLION SHATTERED DREAMS ‘


By: Arjun.R.Shankar


 Engineering a social change is a colossal task and giving it an epic proportion is a great process. Multitudinous sea of people posed myriad and countless questions about the working of the blog. The holiday the team has taken cannot be attributed to the inactive spark of delinquency or willful neglect from our social responsibility. The arsenal was intact and was undergoing a sharpening process. It’s been a long time and we know that we have not weaved a rope of lassitude or bubbles of comatose torpor. The break was prudently used to do something great at least when viewed from our spectacle.

The lines’ emerging in front of that gives us the sensation that we did make a good and daring attempt. The critics can always hit it, but it is crafted with immense hard work and dedication. It was sharpened in our creative arsenal. The larger question popping up now at this juncture is whether any such excuse will justify lethargy and otiosity? The answer will be a big inflated No. The product manufactured is not something directly useful to the masses at large as the vision of Team Akhshayapathra claims, but it is neither contrary to its vision and dreams.

We crafted something and then the aim was to use the product for something good. Then something like a light illuminated the grey cells and we decided finally that the product be used for that purpose. The much read product is a SHORT FILM made by us which is titled ‘THE TALE OF SURPRISE VALLEY’.  This was started last year and took so many months unlike the speedy short films that come out in weeks. The reason is still unfathomable. The crew from the beginning of the shoot witnessed humongous problems of various shades. We had different schedules of shooting and had different locations for it. Some were in the high hills of Ponmudi (70kms from Thiruvananthapuram) and some in valleys near by it.

The nature contested with us fiercely testing our time, energy and money. It was a high pitched battle fought valiantly by us. We kept the track, retreated many times and came back finally, not to win but to sign a truce and reassure the Mother Nature that we believe in the co existence and harmonious living with nature.  Various brands of Homo sapiens ranging from different age groups gave us the toughest resistance. The mantra was to convince everyone.

Finally after smiling at all the flinty gazes and moving the countless obdurate hearts, we have finally completed the movie. Much is now said about the movie, but everything in real sense is incomplete with the complete story. The movie will be released for sure but the medium of approach was very important. The producer of the film keeps asking about the returns as they have doled out a huge sum as far as normal short films are concerned.

But an accidental visit to the Regional Cancer Centre and a real incident made us thinking and the incident was projected in the mind’s silver screen at a high speed with a blue ray quality. May be due to the high definition of the scene, the characters were strong portrayals who left a lasting impression. This made us to think beyond the normal and casual way of walking. Yes walking, it’s the best way and that small distance covered in the road stirred the libraries and archives of the mind and abruptly in a jiffy the mind processed the name ROBERT FROST. Yes it was this.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both,
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.



TEAM AKHSHAYAPATHRA: THE IGNITING YOUNG ENGINES are here and we shall be telling this with a sigh. Two roads diverged in a wood, and we are taking the one less traveled by, and that we hope will make all the difference.

Yes we are taking the less travelled road and we believe that this will make the difference.

After a series of conversation with the producers of the film we came to the conclusion and rediscovery of the mission and vision of AKHSHAYAPATHRA.  This was the ripe time to revamp the instincts and change the obsolete engine and machineries.

We have decided to contribute the entire money and returns from this movie for the treatment of cancer and people who are in dire need of that. This is a novel concept as far as we are concerned. Keeping in mind the broader issue of cancer, we would like to take up this and host a big fundraiser event in Kerala associating various people and groups spreading the importance of donating money for this novel cause. The entire team of the movie has pledged to donate the entire money for this cause.

The TEAM AKSHAYAPATHRA will host an event in Thiruvananthapuram titled

‘LAMPS TO ILLUMINATE A MILLION SHATTERED DREAMS ‘

 The film is titled ‘THE TALE OF SURPRISE VALLEY’ and has the duration of thirty minutes. The entire work of the film is almost over and we are planning to launch a grand star studded premiere launch for our film in the theatres followed by theatre screening in the month of February. We are planning to invite a lot of personal guests including political dignitaries and celebrities for the premiere show which will be followed by a public screening. As our film revolves around a fiction and has strong subplot of ‘cancer and its trauma’ in that, I sense an urgent need to do something for the larger cause of cancer.  


The movie is a tribute to my favourite writer, director P. PADMARAJAN.
A Note about my inspiration

“THE ICONIC LIGHT THAT HAS CARVED A NICHE IN OUR HEART, THE BEACON THAT HAS INSPIRED US TO WRITE AND THINK BEYOND THE EXTRAORDINARY”





THE DETAILS OF THE FILM

‘THE TALE OF SURPRISE VALLEY’ released by ‘SMILING UNICORN RELEASE’

PLOT OF THE MOVIE: The story revolves around the lives of two doctors who are in turn attached to a mysterious valley and that soon becomes a mysterious and surprise valley for them as one among them finds extraordinary traces from it. The movie shows various phases of their life, right from the Medical College student’s life and shows the phase of becoming senior doctors. The Doctors finds out the real matters and understands the various hidden surprises from the nature and at various points the movie delves even into Meta physical level. The doctor hence applies the garnered real knowledge to their medical profession and learns immense lessons and the importance of being a good doctor in life. The valley’s unbelievable mystery and surprise is finally revealed to all. This inspires the doctors and people related to them. The movie projects the unending power of nature and the course it can and has taken over the years. The movie is also the testimony of strong bondage and everlasting friendship.

DURATION: 29 minutes and 52 seconds

‘THE TALE OF SURPRISE VALLEY’ is a ‘LIVE SOUND FILM’ with the sound recording being done on location and has only Live Sound Mixing.


THE PROFILE OF THE CREW


DIRECTED BY:    ARJUN & ARUN

MONEY MINTING:  SINDHU SEKHAR

STORY AND SCREENPLAY: ARJUN.R. SHANKAR (Trivandrum Coordinator of ‘DREMAZ INFOTAINMENTS’, the first quiz management society in Kerala. Graduated in Economics and completing Post graduation in History)  

CELESTIAL MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN: ARUN VARGHESE (Graduating in music from AR RAHMANS music foundation: KM MUSIC CONSERVATORY.

CAMERA THRILLS:  MAHESH SR (Camera man of YES INDIAVISION and formerly ROSEBOWL)

GLAMOUR MACHINE:  SHAJI PUNNACKAL (Noted movie make up man)

ARTISTIC FRILLS: NANDU LAL (LLB from Calicut Law College) and JIJIN J.S (MA POLITICAL SCIENCE FROM HYDERABAD CENTRAL UNIVERSITY)

CREATIVE BALANCER: AKHIL C.S (M.Phil in Economics from CDS Trivandrum)

VISUAL AMBIENCE: SHIBU LAL (experienced camera man)


AESTHETIC LAYERING: LAKSHMI SUNDERSAN (Fashion Technology, CHENNAI)
From right: Directors Arjun.R.Shankar & Arun Varghese during the shooting at Ponmudi with the crew in the backdrop

STARRING


ABHISHEK KRISHNAN (BBA from RAJAGIRI College, COCHIN)

VISHNU JAYENDRAN (BCA from Farook College Calicut, Master of Tourism from Mar Ivanios College)

INDU NAIR (MBBS, ARMY MEDICAL COLLEGE, DELHI CANT, NEW DELHI)

SURESH BALRAJ (Visiting professor, ASIAN SCHOOLOF BUSINESS TRIVANDRUM)

VINAY VILAS (doing CA)

SHRIKANTH VENUGOPAL (Completed B.com from Calicut University)