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India Gazette
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Gazette
Sivaranjini J directorial 'Victoria' becomes India's solo entry at 27th Shanghai International Film Festival, filmmaker shares her journey
Washington DC [US], June 16 (ANI): Director Sivaranjini J is thrilled as her debut feature film Victoria has been selected as the sole entry from India at the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) 2025. The film will be screened under the Asian New Talent section of the festival. Sivaranjini opened up about her journey from a small village in Kerala to gaining international recognition, revealing that she had once given up on her 'dream' of becoming a filmmaker due to the immense struggles faced by independent directors today, reported Variety. In an interview with Variety, the 'Victoria' director said that she feels 'honoured' for the recognition received by her film at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2025. 'I am feeling really honoured by the recognition. On a personal level, it feels like a significant milestone, considering how unattainable making a feature film once seemed to me. It's an acknowledgement of the collective effort of my team and the risks we took with this film,' said Sivaranjini as quoted by Variety. As per the outlet, Sivaranjini developed the project under the Kerala State Film Development Corporation's (KSFDC) Women's Empowerment scheme, which proved instrumental in bringing her vision to life. She calls it a huge 'turning point' in her filmmaking journey. 'By then, I had almost given up on my dream of becoming a filmmaker, aware of the immense struggles independent filmmakers often face. The state government grant was a huge turning point for me. The grant enabled me to pursue my dream without the usual commercial expectations of the producers. We also had access to the facilities of Chitranjali Studio owned by the state government,' said Sivaranjini as quoted by Variety. The film had its premiere at the 29th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in 2024. As per Variety, the movie centres on Victoria, a young beautician who is caught between family expectations and personal desires when she plans to elope with her Hindu boyfriend against her conservative Catholic parents' wishes. Set almost entirely within a beauty parlour, the story complicates when Victoria must care for a neighbour's sacrificial rooster intended for a church offering. Sivaranjini J. also shared the inspiration behind her movie, saying that the idea of 'Victoria' struck her five years ago when she visited a neighbourhood beauty parlour in her home village on the outskirts of Kochi, Kerala. 'I encountered a rooster with its legs tied, near their toilet. I enquired and learned it was a sacrificial rooster soon to be taken to the nearby St. George church as an offering. A rooster inside an all-ladies beauty parlour was the image that inspired me to write the script,' said Sivaranjini. Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) announced the selection of Victoria through their Instagram handle. The cast of the film includes Meenakshi Jayan, Sreeshma Chandran, Jolly Chirayath, Steeja Mary, Darsana Vikas, Jeena Rajeev, and Remadevi. The technical team features Anand Ravi as director of photography, Abdul Khader A.K. handling art and production design, with Sivaranjini serving as editor, and Abhaydev Praful composing the music, reported Variety. (ANI)
The Hindu
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Director Sivaranjini J on ‘Victoria' entering the 2025 Shanghai International Film Festival and more
'There was a phase when I accepted that our movie, Victoria, might not be an entry at any international festival, get a limited release in Kerala, and that would be it for the movie,' says filmmaker Sivaranjini J. However, the director is now thrilled that her debut movie has emerged as the sole entry from India to the Shanghai International Film Festival 2025, on from today till June 22. The film will be screened in the Asian New Talent category. The film is about Victoria (Meenakshi Jayan), a young beautician from Angamaly in Ernakulam district of Kerala, who is forcibly entrusted a sacrificial rooster as she heads for work. She, however, has other plans. She was plotting to elope with her Hindu boyfriend after her Catholic parents come to know about their relationship. Victoria oscillates between maintaining her composure at work and breaking down owing to her relationship troubles. The rooster's antics at the beauty parlour filled with women adds to the chaos. The makings of Victoria 'I had this idea when I went to a beauty parlour in my town. There was a rooster at the parlour, intended as an offering by one of the employees to St George Forane Church at Edappally [in Kochi] for the annual church festival. I got a spark for the script here. The image of a rooster in a parlour with only women was interesting,' says Sivaranjini, who is from Manjapra, a few kilometres away from Angamaly. 'A lot of people from our part of the town attend this ritual. People offer a rooster to Saint George, especially when they see snakes in their vicinity seeing it a reminder from the saint,' explains Sivaranjini, pointing to a leitmotif in the movie. However, Sivaranjini only got around to Victoria's script later; when it was approved by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) for the Woman Empowerment Grant. 'While it took a year to finish the approval process, I completed the script in two weeks,' says Sivaranjini. The team received funding from KSFDC in 2023 and had its premiere at the 29th International Film Festival of Kerala in 2024, where it won the FIPRESCI award for the best Malayalam film by a debut director. The film boasts an almost all-female cast, delving into issues including but not limited to gender. 'I wanted new faces who could speak in the Angamaly dialect. I like working with new actors as they would not have been typecast and it is fun to work with them. We found Meenakshi, Sreeshma Chandran, Steeja Mary, and Darsana Vikas through auditions. I had Jolly (Chirayath) chechi in my mind when I was writing the character of the middle-aged woman,' says Sivaranjini. 'Meenakshi worked at a parlour to prepare for her role,' adds the director about the newcomer who has delivered a convincing performance as a cheerful young woman, secretly burdened by her family and partner, seamlessly transitioning between the two moods. She won the Best Performance award at the Independent and Experimental Film Festival of Kerala 2025 for her portrayal. The change in protagonist's psyche is portrayed through light — its absence and temperature — constantly fluctuating between bright, warm frames and cold, dark frames. 'When you are limited to one space, you can only play around with elements like light. I wanted to show that she is someone who hides her emotions very well and when she is alone, she shows her true self.' Set in the women-dominated space of a beauty parlour, women are portrayed as being free. Existing disparities Victoria also raises questions about caste and class disparities still prevalent in society. 'I wanted to address caste because we live in a society where this exists and I couldn't avoid it from the scope of the film. It was inspired by the experiences of my friends who are in interfaith marriages. The first question others ask them is 'What is your partner's caste?'' Myths and faiths What did the rooster with its legs tied represent? The director says, 'For me, it is a spiritual presence. The central figure has a spiritual moment in the beginning when she touches the rooster for the first time. You also see her pick up a card from a box of Bible verses. On that day, the rooster becomes a source of spiritual support which helps her get through that day, to get out of the central conflict in the movie.' The 33-year-old says that since she had to correctly represent the myth about the saint and the ritual, visuals from the real festival have been used. 'It is like a found footage sequence. It was a document about an event which couldn't be replaced. People may be familiar with sacrificing roosters in a Hindu context, but a lot of people are not aware of it in the Christian context. I wanted them to see that,' she says. The beginnings Sivaranjini, an engineering graduate, developed an affinity towards movies as a child. 'My father was part of a film society in Angamaly, and I used to watch a lot of films early on. However, after Class 12, I could not convince my parents to let me join a visual communication or mass communication course.' She studied film and video communication at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, and made two short films, Ritham (2016) and Kalyani (2014). She joined the PhD programme at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, after a two-year stint as an editor. 'When I began, I wanted to bring in the people I have known for years to my crew. All of them were my friends for years — my DOP (Anand Ravi), music director (Abhaydev Praful), people handling the sound and so on. I wanted it to be their debut as well,' says Sivaranjini. Currently, in a rush to finish her doctoral thesis, Sivaranjini says, 'As a filmmaker, I want to work with the movie medium and its form and as a woman, I want to continue to make movies with a lot of women in them, to present them in roles we have never seen them in.'
New Indian Express
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Malayalam film Victoria selected for Shanghai International Film Festival
Victoria marks the directorial debut of Sivaranjini. Her maiden feature is produced by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation after receiving the Women Empowerment Grant from the Kerala State Government. The film premiered at the 29th International Film Festival of Kerala last year, where it won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Malayalam Film. The film's official synopsis reads, "Victoria, a young beautician in a suburban beauty parlour, decides to elope with her Hindu boyfriend after a fierce clash with her conservative Catholic parents. Amidst the turmoil, a neighbour asks her to temporarily house an offering rooster destined for a festival at St. George church inside the parlour. Juggling the rooster's antics, unexpected clients, and her boyfriend's uncertainty, Victoria grapples with conflicting emotions leading to a day of intense personal and spiritual revelations." The film stars Meenakshi Jayan, Sreeshma Chandran, Jolly Chirayath, Steeja Mary, Darsana Vikas, Jeena Rajeev, and Remadevi. Meanwhile, the 27th SIFF is scheduled to be held from June 13-22. Indian filmmaker Kiran Rao, best known for her helming Dhobi Ghat and Laapata Ladies, is also part of the jury for the Main Competition section at the festival. She is part of the panel led by Oscar-winning Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore.
New Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Becoming Victoria: Actor Meenakshi Jayan on her breakthrough role
Victoria is unique in many ways — it features an all-women cast (except for a rooster), and its cinematic language includes long takes. What was it like working in such an experimental setup? I have a theatre background, so I considered long takes to be a blessing. But in a film, if someone makes a mistake, the entire scene must be reshot. Sivaranjini and the cinematographer, Anand Ravi, would rehearse scenes many times. Anand once described Sivaranjini's cinematic style as a dance between the actor and the camera. I had to walk in sync with the handheld camera throughout, which made the long takes especially challenging for the crew. Yes, the cast was entirely women. Sreeshma Chandran played Laya, Victoria's best friend. Actor Jolly Chirayath had a pivotal role and supported us greatly, as this was the first film for most of us. I must say, the rooster was calm and professional… he was well-trained by Shaji Balaramapuram. In one scene, Sivaranjini wanted him to flutter — he did so perfectly when tickled. He was always on cue and probably the only actor who never made any mistakes! You recently won the Best Performer award at IEFFK. What does the recognition mean to you? Standing on stage with the award, I thought of the women who travelled the path before me, starting with P K Rosy. Women in cinema came to focus after the assault of an actress. The Women in Cinema Project was born after members of the WCC and others met the chief minister to urge systemic support for women in the film industry. As part of this initiative, KSFDC annually selects a script to fund with a grant of up to Rs 1.45 crore. Victoria was one such project. So, in a way, the film was born because one woman stood up for justice. I was able to shine because a group of women came together. I felt grateful to be a woman for the first time. Watching Victoria on screen, I felt glamorous and sexy — like I was the most beautiful woman on Earth. Looking ahead, what kinds of roles are you drawn to? I want to be unpredictable. Actors like Asif Ali constantly break their typecasting, and I admire that. A new ad of mine just came out, and I play a zombie in it! I would love to do more humorous roles that make people laugh for a few hours, considering how depression and anxiety are so common these days. I am part of an upcoming series on SonyLIV, directed by P R Arun, based on beauty pageants. It's fun, goofy, and unlike anything else in Kerala.
