A don rewrites the script of his life

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  ‘Gundukad’ Sabu is rewinding his life through reels. Sabu, who had around 40 cases against him for criminal activities, has decided to rewrite the script of his life.  He has produced a short film and co-penned its script.Through the short film ‘Veekshanam,’  Sabu tries to pass the message about the value of education and tells the youth to choose only the right path.    Veekshanam, a 40-minute-long short film, is directed and written by K G Rajeshkumar, a Malayalam movie director.The thread  of the film goes like this: Mani, an engineering student from an ordinary family, gets  influenced by a Naxalite group and plans a blast to assassinate a political leader. But the plan backfires as the explosion, which takes place in a market place,  kills Mani’s elder brother along with the political leader and many others. This changes his outlook towards life.Once he returns home, Mani realises that his brother’s struggle to educate him had been harder than he had  imagined. It makes him  think of the futility of the path he had chosen and he starts educating the generation younger to him about the virtues of life.“The children of the upper class always have better chances to choose a high-profile career while those from the downtrodden families are more prone  to terrorism/criminal activities. But one should realise that such paths would not lead anywhere. In the film we did not put the blame on any particular community but on the paths that we choose,”Sabu told Express.  Through the short film, he and his friends are taking an optimistic approach about life, a sentiment echoed by Rajeshkumar. Sabu plays the role of Mani’s elder brother in the film.Sabu, 40,  entered the world of crimes ten years back when his elder brother Gundukad Shaji was killed in a gang rivalry. Hailing from Gundukad colony in the city, Sabu has now a new outlook towards life.  A surprise Sabu has in the short film is Vivek, an old acquaintance of Sabu. Vivek, 23, who did the music for the film, had been attracted by criminal activities once. “But Sabu did not allow me to be a part of the gang. He instead diverted me to studies which enabled me to take a degree in sound engineering,” Vivek said.Sabu and his friends formed the production house ‘Peanut Media’ two years back and Veekshnam is its first production. The shooting began on February 24  and was completed in six days.