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BY SAPNA ANU B GEORGE
Changing course from your academic stream to a
creative one must be quite a challenge. From an
environmental engineer to directing stage plays,
evolving documentaries and producing and directing
short films, calls for mental abundance and focus
as we see in the career of Satish Menon.
A home away from home in Florida is where life
blossomed for Satish, since his father pursued a
career at the University of Florida-Gainesville.
Beyond family relationships, the experience of
living and indulging in Indian culture was never
thrust upon him.
 The career re-mapping led to desired results --
he was able to direct, produce and film,
documentaries and short films from an Indian
perspective. In a candid confession, Satish Menon
states that his profession, as an environmental
engineer, was an occupation which sustained him
from starving and provided a roof over his head.
His respect for his academics is also admirable,
when he says, “environmental engineering is not
any less glorious; it has its purpose and avenues
for creativity, but my dream seemed more in tune
with the cryptic sense of expression which films
facilitate.”
The initial decision of "I want to make a
movie" was not just a thought that crossed his
mind one fine Sunday afternoon. It was his love
and involvement in evolving quality local stage
plays that triggered his dormant potential to
write, produce and direct four short fiction films
and a documentary. Under the flag of Visual
Possibility Inc., where Satish holds the office as
a founder and managing partner, the full length
feature film Emotions of Being was made. His
prominent short films Awake (2001; 6
minutes 16mm), Where does Storm water go?
(2001; 26 minutes Mini DV), Cookie (1998; 3
minutes 16 mm), Lost in the Garden of Eden
(1998; 47 minutes Super VHS), The Soiled Plate
(1996; 42 minutes Super VHS were directed,
produced and screened.
Reflecting on his first south Indian feature
film Bhavum, which revolves around the
people of Kerala, Satish was brimming with
excitement and his thoughts were expressed with
profound intelligence. This is what he had to
convey - films and drama are a mode for creative
expression. “Since I like to reflect upon
contemporary society, selecting a theme and story
that fit the current state of mind of the middle
class life in Kerala was an utmost necessity."
Bhavum, Satish’s first full-fledged
South Indian feature film subscribed to an
in-depth theme that was a viable fit in a
post-globalization Urban India. The film captures
the struggle between the conscious and unconscious
mind of a young couple whose happiness is
stretched when their love, lifestyle, and fidelity
are challenged with the arrival of the wife’s
sister, a woman with a mysterious past.
Making this film was part of that revolutionary
process required to be sustained and further
subscribe to an advanced learning of the technical
side of film making. Therefore, working on
economies of scale, Kerala, located in South
India, was selected as the knowledge imparting
centre.
The finances at his disposal, and the
characters to fit the script were evaluated and
validated, which brought in the likes of Murali
Menon and Jyothirmayi who play the lead role.
Mitha Vasisth brings to life an intense role,
which justifies her presence. Cinematography was
handled by Sunny Joseph, an experienced hand.
The awards and acclaims that followed Bhavum
were enormous. State awards for Best Debut
Director, Best Film 2002, and Lead actress
received Special Jury mention at the National
Awards 2002. The high emotional intensity that set
in for being one of the coveted movies to be
screened in many film festivals namely, Indian
Film Festival in Los Angeles, Key west India
Festival, Asian Film Festival of Dallas, Cinefest
Doha, 5th Cinefan Delhi, Indian Panorama IFFI’
2003 needs a mention. The film has been selected
to be screened at the Cairo International Film
Festival in Oct -17th.
It is not an independent effort that brings
success. The team work, to which Satish subscribes
calls for praise. Satish showers compliments on
his cinematographer Sunny Joseph. “From the
perspective of a director, especially a first-time
director, it was wonderful to have Sunny as my
cinematographer, because he was never intrusive.
He was patient from the word Go. Read the script,
made his suggestions, gave his opinions, but most
importantly, listened to what I had to say and
then moulded his response to maximize my
intentions. As the production progressed, it
seemed like, Sunny knew exactly what I was
thinking, and that helped the push-forward. For a
an amateur director, where every other thing was
going wrong, the support and his ability to adjust
to work within my time and resource constraints
were crucial and I could only stand in awe of
him”.
Ruggedly handsome and a very pleasant human
being, Satish Menon is a shy, self-involved
individual, who prefers to be left alone.
Surprisingly, just plain and ordinary, lost in
self thoughts, and living to achieve, his own
dreams. Poignantly devoid of any vices, this man
of recluse, is a vegetarian and loves food,
ranging from Thai, Italian, Mexican, and Indian
but mentions” I am not picky, I love food”.
A workaholic by nature, Satish Menon is
composed, and able to put “First things First”.
His love for music transformed from Rock n’Roll
while in his teens to Jazz and classical (both
Indian & western). On his friends' circle, his
thoughts were- “I spend most of my time on my own,
with the exception of a few close friends with
whom I loved spending time, I usually find my home
(my apartment in Chicago) a place for solace and
quiet contemplation."
On evolving stories, he says: “Stories develop
out of experiences and assessment of the
environment around you. I collect my memories,
random but frequent. It takes its time to
metastasize and get a form, which invariably
starts as an idea, then as a concept and then, it
takes a shape of a story that evolves organically.
“So the process of my writing is very long. I let
it embryonicalIy grow in my thoughts for a while.
Further, once it develops in parts, I distribute
them to a page and keep moulding it, until it is
coherent.”
Since the time I remember, I loved movies and
as I grew up, I began to sense the importance of
movies in being able to express what words alone
could not accomplish. Therefore, I'm using movies
to express my self, if I might be so bold to
suggest that.
Does one have to be married to know what
marriage is about? “My life is filled with
experiences that help me relate to most human
conditions, although I am single and relatively
young. The fact that I can observe, experience and
understand the condition of people apart from me,
lends to tell stories that can be universal. But
let's put it this way, “does a man have to be a
woman to understand and write about her wants and
desires?” I do not think so. Again, the movie
stands for itself. The fact that I have never been
married should not prejudice my interpretation of
a marriage..."
"During several public screenings of Bhavum,
I was delighted to witness the rapt attention of
people and the joy they derived from watching the
film. usually, the screening followed a Q&A
session, which is mostly very polite, but good to
hear people’s perceptions, curiosity, and what
they admired in the film. Relating elements of the
film that I would not have thought of, which helps
me see the film, in a new perspective."
When asked about the next project, Satish
mentioned that he was currently writing a script
based on a novel... which could not be revealed at
this juncture. Simultaneously, Satish is working
on a documentary highlighting the conditions of
battered immigrant women. The scripts contain
fictitious and real individuals who are personally
known and the characters are combination of people
within the circle of friends and outside.
Therefore, in a sense, they are real people and
the stories are bona fide. He promises it will be
a complex human relation, in the midst of this
non-interactive world.
BY SAPNA ANU B GEORGE
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