I have seen Kochi change before my eyes: Fasil Muhammed

Malayalam film Feminichi Fathima, with a woman-centric theme, won big at the International Film Festival of Kerala 2024 and later at the Kerala State Film Awards last year. The director Fasil Muhammed has now travelled far and wide with the film. A young man who reached Kochi from Ponnani with dreams of cinema, Fasil is a Headliner 2025.

In a conversation with us, the filmmaker shares the impact his debut film has left on his life and that of others.'I came to Kochi for cinema'Fazil moved to Kochi immediately after completing his studies, almost eight years ago now. During this period, he has done odd jobs and worked as a spot assistant editor, etc. Fazil says, "My thought was to study an editing course, then become an assistant director, etc. Kochi is the cinema hub in my mind. I have seen Kochi change before my eyes.

The metro and every other change in Kochi happened along the way. I made many contacts here.

But cinema was not happening. That's when I had the thought to make cinema from where I am. I went back home and made a film there in the yard of my home. But after making the film, I came with it directly back to Kochi. All the post-production work happened here. I am so familiar with Kochi now that I know every nook and corner, every tea shop...

I have settled here now. This is where I met Feminichi Fathima's music director, too. He was the one who helped me with a room to stay when I first came here."'The women around me inspired the film'It's not easy to get into the skin of a woman and write a film from a woman's point of view. How did Fasil manage it? He says, "I have spent most of my young life with my mother, sister, aunts, etc. I interact more with them. I have seen their emotions, their thoughts, etc.

The film itself was first inspired by a small event in my thatha's life. All the scripts I have written before this were female-centric, too. I feel it's because I know their struggles and because I grew up among them.

I see many women around my home too. I always sit in on their local conversations as well.'People who have watched it defend my film now'After the film reached a wider audience through theatres and OTT, something I have noticed is that when people who have not even watched the film try to trash it on social media, the people who have watched it — ordinary women — come forward to defend it, irrespective of religion.

A lot of people come to me and share that they have had similar experiences. Once, during the screening at the Bangalore Film Festival, someone came and hugged me, crying.

She told me... it hurt so good. During a theatre visit, someone told me... it's my story. From all this, I understand that the film has reached where it should have. People outside Kerala have, I feel, enjoyed the film more. When we screened it in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bhubaneswar, I saw more laughs in theatres than in Kerala.'People's response inspired me to search for better content'Is there pressure when he thinks of making his next project? "When I think of doing another project, I want it to be good. It has to be a film that's above Feminichi Fathima. During the State award ceremony, Mammookka had said, 'Such films will only happen in Malayalam' — that finally drove home that we made something special." The pressure has only inspired a search for better content.Meeting Mammootty..I had met Mammookka in Kochi and we discussed the film. He wanted to know how I made the people act and other details of filming. It was very surreal. It was a long conversation.'Dulquer's name helped the film reach more people' Feminichi Fathima was brought to theatres by Dulquer Salmaan's production company. How did that materialise? He says, "I had wanted to take the film to theatres after IFFK itself.

But no one committed because there are 'no artistes', according to them. If I tell them we had won some awards, they will say it's immaterial — artistes are necessary. I had reached out to Dulquer to tell another story. He asked me to go to his office and meet his team.

We were talking and when they asked me about my previous project, I showed them Feminichi Fathima's trailer. They asked me if it had hit theatres. I said no, I did not get any distributor. They asked for a preview link. The next day itself, they called me and expressed their interest in distributing the film. I think Dulquer's name helped us reach more people too."