Two short films with a hard-hitting message. Two vignettes of youth that throw light on the sinister paths that many teenagers inadvertently take or are pushed into. Directed by auteur Shyamaprasad, the two films, Online Predators and Road to Hell , are meant as a wake-up call for a society that is in the throes of change.
Narrated by young actors Prithviraj and Parvathy, the films, released on Youtube, alert viewers to the dangers of cyber world and drugs through the stories of two teenagers – Shikha and Deepak.
In Kochi for a workshop prior to the shooting of Ivide , Shyamaprasad’s latest film that will be shot completely in the United States, the director took time off to make the short films.
“As a father and a citizen, I have been disturbed by rising incidents of drug abuse and cyber crime amongst our youngsters. While in Kochi as jury chairman of Script, a short film competition organised by the Rotary Club, members of Bodhini, an outreach programme of the organisation for community service, got in touch with me to discuss the possibility of shooting a film to make students, parents and teachers aware of the dangers that lurk in our schools, campuses, homes and familiar surroundings, environments that we assume are safe for our children,” says Shyamaprasad.
Reena Sabin, one of the members of the Rotary Club, Metropolis, explains that the primary objective of Bodhini is to create awareness on child abuse and violence against women.
The films are projects in that direction. The two short movies take us into the lives of two susceptible youngsters who fall prey to those who hunt such vulnerable children for various nefarious reasons of their own. While Shikha’s busy parents ignore their daughter’s increasing preoccupation with her mobile and her world wide networking with her friends, Deepak’s parents, caught in their miserable and stressful marriage, fail to see their son’s unhappiness and loneliness.
Narrated evocatively by Parvathy, Online Predators , follows Shikha as she disconnects from the real world of studies and sports to interact with her unseen friends on the internet. Photographs and information shared by her become a snare for her online friend to trap her in his devious plan to abuse her. In the meantime, music-loving Deepak hits the streets to avoid his squabbling parents and fall into the wrong company of drug abusers who entice him with their companionship.
“Ignorance or carelessness on the part of parents and teachers are making children vulnerable to a lot of online predators. The film highlights how to avoid them and also how to help the victims if they have already been trapped in an ugly situation. Help is at hand to assist such children and their families. It is important that the message reaches out to the maximum number of people,” says Shyamaprasad.
Reena says they are planning to translate the films, sponsored by the Muthoot Pappachan Foundation, into different languages to screen it for their target audience since they have designed a programme for classes one to 12 to prevent child abuse and violence against children. They hope to expand the scope of the ongoing programme in a few select schools in Kochi to include all schools in Kerala.
The films end with a phone number [8891320005] to reach out to and an assurance that there is always someone to hear their problems and find a solution to that, adds Shyamaprasad. Both Shikha and Deepak are saved in the nick of time thanks to the intervention of responsible adults who help them find their way out of the maze.
“We wanted children who were entering unknown territory to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that they are not alone,” says Reena.
