Kumudini

2018, Malayalam, Vimeo.com, Documentary, Directed by Jaya Jose Raj

A simple documentation of an elderly responsible citizen, to protect her environment in the God’s own country, from the devilish clutches of the pollution mongering industries.

The short documentary- Kumudini, which translates, ‘pond of water lilies’, has an apt tag line – ‘A water lily chronicle’. It features an elderly lady named Kumudini, who sought the late President Abdul Kalam’s intervention to fight against pollution of underground water by the neighborhood coir factory.

The film opens to Kumudini delightfully singing a film song, that narrates the jingling eternal flow of the river Aluva and the secret embrace of the waves and the bank. The musical score that she mouths, after singing the verses, introduces Kumudhini’s love for clear water and portrays the child in her as well.

The film sways back and forth to explain who she was in the past, a civil servant posted in Zambia and who she is now, fighting against the 6 owners of the coir industry for compensation for the pollution caused by them to the local water body.

The sequences that the maker compiles from reprimanding our past mistakes, highlighting the ghastly Kerala floods and hinting on solutions to prevent such catastrophes in future, makes ‘Kumudini’, a pleasant and distinct viewing experience.

Good watch.