more-in Mandi is a kind of Yemini biriyani that is spreading its aroma all across Kerala. A baked dish, it consists of a leg of mutton or chicken and rice that is slow-cooked in the stock. In Arab countries, the meat is hung over the tandoor or pit and baked slowly without any oil. In Kerala, it is slow-cooked in a hole in the ground (kuzhi in Malayalam) and the resultant mildly spiced biriyani has found takers all over the State who swear by its flavour and tender meat. So when a film is called Kuzhimandi, it is bound to whet the appetite. But young filmmaker Harold Anthony Paulson, a student of KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Sciences and Arts in Kottayam, says it was the name of the dish that fired his imagination. “The meat is hidden in the rice and we find the meat when we remove the rice covering it. I found that intriguing and decided to use the name to tell my story, which was inspired by a popular story by Roald Dahl. I have used that tale to tell the story of contemporary Kerala,” he says over the phone. Harold says it is a many-layered theme that reflects on marital relationships, gender equation and the interface between people and the authorities. Part of his project in college, the film has also been scripted him. Archana Padmini, Prasant M. Madathilkarottu, Jemsil Ashraf and Gopu Kesav are in the cast of the film that is in the focus segment of the short fiction category of the ongoing International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala. Agreeing that it is indeed exhilirating to find a place in the festival, Harold admits he was optimistic about his seven-minute film getting selected as two of his films, Big Bang Theory and Gomorrah, had been included in the fete last year. So is he a fan of Kuzhimandi? “Not really,” he laughs. “I had it once and it was alright. But, like I said earlier, it was the name that caught my attention. There is something hidden and one has to find it. In the same way, there is a mystery in my film that will be uncovered when you watch it,” he says. ’Kuzhimandi’ will be screened at Sree Theatre at 10 am on July 24

Stay updated with all the Latest Thiruvananthapuram headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.