SANJU V. SAMSON, Cricketer
Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar called him “a talented batsman… a composed kid with [a good] head on his shoulders,” after watching Sanju outdo himself at this year’s IPL where plays for the Rajasthan Royals. Indeed, Kerala cricket’s boy wonder, who hails from Pulluvial, Vizhinjam, has had a sixer of a year this year, right from his outing with the team India at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup that was held in February in the United Arab Emirates. The 20-year-old soft-spoken wicketkeeper-batsman, also scored a high for India A team at the Quadrangular series in Australia, where he was the team’s highest scorer with 244 runs in seven innings. That earned him a place on the national squad for India’s tour of England. However, he didn’t get to play any of the matches and remained only as a back up wicketkeeper for team captain MS. Dhoni. Nonetheless, such is his value on the field that BCCI has awarded him a level three contract, making him the first Kerala cricketer after S. Sreesanth to get one. Sanju, who is presently in Dhanbad, Jharkand, starring for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy tournament, is also on the list of 30 probables for the upcoming World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. “I want to achieve the heights in international and domestic cricket, play for India in whites, and win the World Cup,” says Sanju.
GEORGE KORUTH a.k.a. Fotobaba Instagrammer
He’s a doctor by profession and photographer by passion. Known in the photography world as Fotobaba, the city-based documentary and travel photographer has been voted as one of India’s top Instagrammers on popular photo sharing feed Instagram. George has got over 4,400 followers on his Instagram account, his photos winning plaudits for capturing the intensity of the emotions of his subjects, particularly his stills of people. Extremely media-shy, George prefers to let his vivid photos of people and places around the country do the talking. Every photo of his, whether it’s a shot of life and religion in the city’s Agrahams or Sadhus in Varanasi, they each have a story to tell. On the condition that we won’t publish his profile picture, George says: “I am inspired by faces, the unfamiliar in familiar surroundings and the search for familiarity in unfamiliar places. Photography puts me in a state of meditation, which allows me to see things with more clarity. The moment is what counts.”
GAYATHRI THANKACHI AND AARDRA CHANDRA MOULI Founders, Aeka Biochemicals Private Ltd.
For 25-year-olds Gayathri Thankachi and Aardra Chandra Mouli, classmates of Sree Chitra Thirunal College of Engineering (2007-11 batch) the formation of Aeka Biochemicals Pvt. Ltd. in June 2014 was the realisation of the dream they shared during their college days. They used to discuss about starting a company a few years down the lane and when Aardra returned from the United Kingdom after completing her masters in Management from Warwick Business School, the idea popped up again and they decided to go ahead. Aeka is into manufacture of ‘biotechnological, biochemical and enzymatic products, chemical products and extracts of biological origin and products for pharmaceutical, chemical, life science, food, cosmetic and research applications.’ “We want to promote women entrepreneurship and provide a platform for the development of young talent in biotechnology, biochemistry and life sciences,” says Aardra. In the long run, they hope to “establish biotechnology and biochemical manufacturing in the capital city.” They envisage to be a global player in 25 years and plan to diversify by expanding their activities to pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture, healthcare and cosmetics, upholding ‘Make in India’ programme.
SOBHA ASHWIN, Textile entrepreneur
It takes gumption to take a time-tested, much-loved textile brand that the city more or less considers its own, give it a stylish makeover and then go to town with it. That’s what Sobha has been doing with Weaver’s Village, a sister concern of well-known handloom enterprise C.P. Rajendran and Sons Karalkada. And what a year Weaver’s Village has had! “This year we’ve really made our presence felt up and down the state, by taking part in fashion shows and designing costumes for key events, all inspired Karalkada’s traditional Kerala handlooms,” says the bubbly Sobha, who runs Weaver’s Village with fashion designer Sreeremya Sambath. This year, Weaver’s Village strutted down the catwalk at the International Fashion week in Kochi with Unni Mukundan and Ann Augustine as their showstoppers, designed the costumes for the Onam episode of ‘D4Dance’ on Mazhavil Manorama, designed the uniforms of the volunteers for IFFK 2014 and the bags and flags for the Kochi Biennale. They also ventured into costuming in films, designing Mammootty’s costumes for the upcoming film Fireman and the short film Moonnamidam, produced by Jayasurya. Now, Weaver’s Village is in the process of setting up their first outlet in the city, which Sobha says, “is a design studio and art gallery rolled into one, where, apart from our own brand, we will showcase the works of several other like-minded designers from across the country.” Time to go international?
NEHA NAIR AND YAKSON GARY PEREIRA, Musicians
We have heard and also seen them sing and make music, live and on television. But when Neha Nair and Yakzon Gary Pereira teamed up to compose for Amal Neerad’s Iyobinte Pusthakam, they surpassed expectations of even their fans. They scored with a haunting background that kept in tune with the action and mood of the characters and came up with some melodious numbers that announced their arrival in tinsel town. ‘Raave, a duet sung by Neha and Harichara, continues to keep its place on the charts. Neha and Yakzon had earlier composed for two segments of Anju Sundarikal, Shyju Khalid’s Sethulakshmi and Anwar Rasheed’s Aami. “We are hoping to compose for more films but we are not in a hurry, maybe a film in a year,” says Neha. At present, the two are busy composing for Rima Kallingal’s new dance production on the legendary Unniarcha. The composers plan too use some young talent for the musical. In the meantime, both have a hectic schedule as band members of Vidwan. “In fact, Vidwan is composing the music for a new film by Resmi Arvind next year,” adds Neha. They are on song.
N.J. NANDINI, Classical vocalist
2014 was a high note for Nandini, who has become the young face of classical music in the city. “It was a really good year, with a lot of positive and uplifting things happening to my career,” says Nandini, who was awarded the Chembai Puraskaram, followed by the Isai Chudai title and the M.S. Subbalakshmi fellowship this year. The 22-year-old also flew to China as part of the India China youth delegation, the only Carnatic singer to be selected for the same. “We toured Beijing, Qufu, Shandong and Shangai,” she says. “I’m expecting more such positive things to happen in 2015. I want to go into society and with my music do something for the youth,” she adds.
SANAL SASIDHARAN AND SAJIN BABU, Directors
Indie filmmakers Sanal Kumar Sasidharan and Sajin Babu made no promises or compromises while making their films. These young debutant directors films did the talking for them once their ‘dream projects were completed. Without the help of a well-oiled public relations machinery to get them media space or air time, the two filmmakers did the rounds themselves. Social media did come to their rescue to get some publicity. But ultimately it was their vision and dedication that won them accolades and critical acclaim.
While Sajin’s film Unto The Dusk won the audience award for the best film at the international film festival of Kerala, Sanal’s Oral Pokkam won the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award for the best Malayalam movie. What is remarkable is that both these directors did not go for any of the stars and their films were not produced by the big starry banners either. “I wanted my films to be known for myself direction and not as a star’s film. So I auditioned several actors before I chose the lead actors in my film. Moreover, the locations were quite inaccessible and involved a lot of trekking. I don’t think our stars today would have had the time for all that, given their busy schedules,” says Sajjin.
It was for the same reason that Sanal also opted to move out of the star system. “I needed dates for a fairly long period. And I was not willing to make the film in any other way but mine,” says Sanal.
Their success should open a new chapter in Mollywood.
Aswathy Nair, Runs NGO Jwala Foundation
When the NGO Jwala Foundation was registered in January this year, for Aswathy Nair, its founder, it was an extension of the humanitarian work she has been doing for the last three years, that is distributing free lunch for the homeless and aged who live by the streets. “Now we distribute home-cooked food to 70 regular people and keep extra packets in case we find somebody who need food,” says the 28-year-old, who works as a medical representative during day and attends law classes in the evenings. At the dawn of the new year, she is busy raising funds to distribute wheel chair to paraplegic Sheeba and wants to mobilise money and man power to rehabilitate and support as many as she can. Even as she is forced to shift her office and is battling problems with her eye sight, she refuses to give up.
NAMITHA PRAMOD, Actress
This city lass has found a secure footing in Mollywood. Vivacious and confident Namitha Pramod began her career on a high note in Sathyan Anthikkad’s Puthiya Theeran. Although the film did not do as well as expected, she continues to go places with roles that has her acting with the leading stars in tinselville. Vikramadithyan with Dulquer Salmaan and Unni Mukundan and Ormayundo ee mukham with Vineeth Sreenivasan did well at the box office too. With a clutch of movies on the floor, 2014 will be a busy year for the actress who is now a student in Kochi.
ANNA MINI, Social activist
When Anna Mini along with other youngsters led from the forefront to organise protests against moral policing, little did she realise how much it would change the face of protests in Kerala. “I learnt a great deal from it. Returning to Kerala after six years outside the State proved that the society here is yet to respect the freedom of expression and right to privacy. Even in the city, which did not witness the kind of incidents that happened in Kochi or Kozhikode, the police wanted to know if we planned to lock lips in public. They were not comfortable with that and told us that they would have to stop any such incident,” laughs Anna.
She feels that it is high time youngsters join hands for a cause without the banner of a political party. Anna, who is now working as convener of Sakhi Resource Centre, hopes that the new year will see women coming out to reclaim their space and place in society.
