Velicham delivers the message of “Happiness can be found anywhere”

 

Velicham is a 2023 avant-garde Tamil short film that immerses the viewers into the lives of two young siblings, Bujimma and her brother, as they handle life with all its harshness in a dump yard in Tamil Nadu, India. This heart-wrenching tale invites audiences to empathize with the experiences of these children and prompts deep reflection on societal attitudes towards marginalized communities. This 24-minute short film is produced by a joint venture of DN Media Productions and Haritham Movies. Directed by Sanu K Chandran and Nidhin Salgunan, Velicham, is a unique blend of music and emotion, presented in an unconventional style.    

 

The two siblings are portrayed by Master Davinchi Satheesh (Best Child Artist at Kerala State Film Awards 2023) and Baby Thennal Rithu. The rest of the crew comprises of major names that include cinematography by Vishnu Panicker (Mikhael, Valatty), production design by Appunni Sajan (Malik, 4aam Mura), editing by Ayoob Khan (Drishyam, Athiran), music by Varun Sunil (Founder of Masala Coffee Band, Valatty), sound design by Nixon George (Minnal Murali), final mixing by Fazal A. Backer (Churuli, Ajagajantharam), etc. This roster of extraordinary talents has made the viewing experience a powerful and moving cinematic journey. The main setting for the movie was Chennai, Tamil Nadu, with a few scenes filmed in Ernakulam, Kerala as well. Filming concluded in January of 2022, and the film is now all set for release on Apple TV and Google Play Movies & TV in 2023.

 

The short employs minimal dialogue, relying instead on gentle background music to accompany most scenes. Velicham gives a significant impact by drawing our attention to subtle issues of the class system and inspiring discussions on how we can work towards a more equitable and compassionate society. The story prompts us to count our blessings and be happy no matter how much life crushes you down. Velicham is going to be one of those art works that is going to make us think as well as bring about a change within.