Unnikrishnan Avala has been nothing less than a spokesperson for the tribal population, be it through his documentary The Last Page, his book Vipareetham or his feature film directorial debut, Udalaazham. The writer-filmmaker’s latest work, Thanthapperu — Life of a Phallus, breaks new ground – it features the Cholanaikan community, Asia’s only cave-dwellers, with over a dozen members acting in the film. The movie is in their language, a unique blend of Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu.
This indigenous group lives in Karimpuzha sanctuary in different caves, some 45 kilometres from Nilambur in Malappuram district. “Less than 200 members are in the tribe now. They were one of the three tribes featured in my documentary, The Last Page, 15 years ago, the other two being Aalar and Aranadan tribes. There are some unique aspects about them, including their facial features that stayed with me even after I finished the documentary.”
He remembers that the crew had a tough time bringing them before the camera for the documentary. “In fact, one of the tribespeople beat up our cameraman because he did not like what we were doing. We could not shoot many things back then. While my first film was in the language of the Paniya tribe that has a bigger population, this one excited me more.”
The fact that some of them could not remember certain words and usages in their language piqued Unnikrishna’s interest. “I am sure the language will soon become extinct. This was a major reason for taking up this difficult project,” says Unnikrishnan.
He decided to make a feature film and not a documentary since he had struggled to screen the latter. “I realised that a feature film will be a better space to talk about the tribe.”
A still from the movie
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Among those who helped him bond with the tribe were members of the community such as Vinod Chellan, the co-scriptwriter of the movie, Bellakkariyan Maneesh, the film’s protagonist, and Vinayan Karimbuzha, one of the actors.
A significant aspect of the film is that it has to be understood against the context of the 50th year of the Emergency (1975-77) this year, and one of the controversial chapters of the period – the sterilisation programme. A globally sanctioned policy for population control became a forced initiative during this phase.
“The government had ordered that it should not be carried out among tribals. But since the health department was given a specific monthly target, they did forcible vasectomy on the economically and socially disadvantaged, which included men from tribal communities, to meet that target. The procedure was done under the pretext of curing their illness and they were appeased with incentives such as cash and token gifts.”
Unnikrishnan adds that no study has been conducted on the impact of the drive on the tribal population. But a couple of tribals had spoken to him on camera in his documentary about it.
Unnikrishnan Avala, filmmaker and writer
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MOHAMED PHOTOGRAPHY
Thanthapperu, he says, shows how this dark chapter in history continues to impact a tribal community. “Even though vasectomy was not carried out among the Cholanaikans, I have placed my story in that community because, like many other tribes, they have fewer females compared to males. Since they cannot marry people from another tribe, there are many unmarried men. This real-life fact is given a fictional touch in Thanthapperu.”
Udalaazham
Unnikrishnan Avala’s first movie Udalaazham tells the story of Gulikan, a transperson who is brought up as a boy by his tribal community while his sexual orientation is that of a girl. The film was screened at film festivals in London, Melbourne, Madrid, Bengaluru, Mumbai and the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK)
The protagonist is Nari Monchan, son of the tribal head, who is married to Bella (Chincina Bhamini). Since most of his friends are unmarried, he becomes insecure in his marriage. Especially because there exists a custom in the community that if a man can keep a woman with him deep inside the forest without getting caught, he can marry her. As a result he becomes overprotective, possessive, and suspicious of his wife. Certain beliefs about physical intimacy also come in the way of their relationship. Eventually, they grow apart and she gets close to his friend.
Around the same time, Nari Monchan, who takes pride in being “his father’s son”, is shocked to learn some truths about his paternity, which is linked to the Emergency and the sterilisation drive. The facts he learn shatter him.
The film also reveals how the community has been exploited and misled by the cityfolk. “There is a jeep driver who is their only connect with the world outside of the forest. They sell the forest produce through him who gives them alcohol and tobacco in return.”
Filming was done in three stages. “First, we documented where and how the tribal people lived in caves. In the second stage, we took wide-angle shots in and around their settlement. After that we took them to a location where the forest cover starts to take close-up shots.”
Unnikrishnan Avala with Bellakkariyan Maneesh (left) during the shoot of Thanthapperu
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However, it took six years to complete the film. “The reasons are many. They do not come out during the rainy season. During March and April, the men are usually busy collecting honey and other forest produce. The shoot also got delayed because it was difficult to bring them together at one location since they lived in different places. Also, once the shoot started the men were eager to return to their partners. They were insecure about their marriages just like the protagonist. Other than that, they did not come for the shoot if they were not feeling good emotionally.”
A still from Thanthapperu
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MOHAMED PHOTOGRAPHY
Six months ago, tragedy struck the team. Poochakkaran Mani, who plays the protagonist’s friend and his wife’s lover, was attacked inside the forest by a wild tusker and he succumbed to the injuries. “We were in the final schedule and were supposed to shoot a couple of scenes featuring him. This happened when they were returning after discussing the final scenes with us. Mani was thrown by the elephant while trying to save a child from the animal. It was late by the time they reached the hospital and he could not be saved,” Unnikrishnan remembers.
Only a few artistes outside the tribe have acted in the film and among them is filmmaker Jeo Baby. Cinematography is by Mohamed A, editor is Jinu Sobha and music is by Janaki Easwar and Rithu Vysakh. Production designer is Ambily Mydhily, colour grading is done by Liju Prabhakar and project co-ordinator is Hisham.
Unnikrishnan adds that he is hoping to take the film to the festival circuit.
Published – July 21, 2025 04:49 pm IST
