It doesn’t take much for children to lose their innocence these days. The television, internet, and our changing world make it really challenging for parents to keep a tab on the things that influence their kids. What they learn invariably has an impact on their young minds, and this is what Sharath Kumar Prabhu, through his 18-minute short film ‘Whyga’ attempts to point out.
There has been an alarming increase in the rate of child abuse in the state, and statistics show that all is not right.Domestic harassment and child abuse have more or less become a routine news in newspapers. Equally alarming is the impact of the cyber world on children, an issue that we often do not take very seriously. Sharath’s film deals with some of these themes.
Whyga, a six-year-old is a joyful and happy kid, till her parents and teachers start to spot a curious change in her behaviour. She begins to show a physical intimacy towards her classmates. Soon Whyga goes missing. Later, it is found that the little girl who played with her dolls till then is disturbed after accidentally getting exposed to porn films that her parents were watching.
Talking about the sensitive theme of the film, Sharath says, “This film is inspired from a real life incident. In fact it is not a single incident, but the portrayal of the lives of many families around us. Childhood is a vulnerable period, it’s a time when children absorb whatever they see around. Parents often tend to forget that whatever they do is being watched and imitated by their kids.”
Sharath who did a year long research on the topic says, “I spoke to councillors and psychiatrists about the issue, and they informed that such issues were happening all around us”
Pointing out a recent incident in which a 13-year-old boy attacked a woman, Sharath says, “The changing lifestyle of the present generation is the major reason for these incidents. The concept of openness has changed over period. Children are often exposed to an overdose of sex from a very tender age. And it is tough to control it these days.”
The film has been produced under the banner of Gosree movies. Cinematography is by Vishnu Nandan, editing by C R Sreejith, music by Arun Muralidharan. Baby Sathya has acted as Whyga, Sadhika as her mother and Bhaskar Mangalasseri as her father.
The film was first screened at Kacheripadi Gandhibhavan on July 29. As part of an awareness programme, Sharath says, they plan to screen the film at various schools.
Sharath who has associated himself with two films, Suresh Gopi starrer ‘Kadaksham’ and Tamil movie ‘Viradam’, holds the credit of making the first Konkani movie in Kerala, ‘Nandu’ (2011). Right now he is busy with two feature films, one in Malayalam and the other in Konkani.
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