Sanjeev Sivan rues dearth of sensible Malayalam film producers

Director Sanjeev Sivan feels the Malayalam film industry has a dearth of filmmakers and producers who can make sensible cinema.

While talking at a press conference in Kochi, Sanjeev, younger brother of Sangeeth Sivan, said the filmmakers are only concentrating on commercial movies. They are unaware of the broader market and opportunities to market movies outside the state and the country.

Sanjeev's latest offering is "Venalodungathe". It is not only set to travel to various film festivals overseas, it has also become the first regional language film to be bought by HBO for commercial release in North America.

The movie is based on a true story and follows the journey of an old couple, who wish to have a child from their dead son's semen.

Ravi Kumar, 59, a casual labourer, and his 58-year-old wife Karthiyayani from Thrissur, had a son Ratheesh, a sound engineering student in a Bangalore institute. He was diagnosed with tumour in his testes and later died. While he was being treated, doctors advised that his semen be collected and stored for further use. And that's what he did.

Ratheesh died in 2011 at the age of 28.

After the son's death, when the elderly couple approached the hospital for the semen, it refused to give it to them.