Sisters Shenuga, Shegna and Sherga have bankrolled Uyare, helmed by debut director Manu Ashokan. scripted by award winning duo Bobby- Sanjay. Part of the Indian Panorama section of IFFI, the film tells the story of an acid attack survivor, played by Parvathy

There were many spotlights at the recently concluded International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. One among them that got our attention are budding producer sisters Shenuga, Shegna and Sherga. They bankrolled Uyare, helmed by debut director Manu Ashokan. scripted by award winning duo Bobby-Sanjay. Uyare, which was part of the Indian Panorama section, tells the story of an acid attack survivor, played by Parvathy.

“We are excited that Uyare was part of the Indian Panorama at IFFI,” say three sisters in one voice giving full credit to their mother Sherien Gangadharan and father P V Gangadharan, well-known film producer in Kerala under the banner of Griharlakshmi Productions. “We decided to green lit the film after go ahead from our mother. We got the full confidence and inspiration after we got the narrative cleared by our mother. She is our script doctor.”

Shenuga, Shegna and Sherga have aptly named their new production outfit S Cube Films, a subsidiary of Grihalakshmi Productions which has successfully produced 24 films in Malayalam in the last four decades. The trio bankrolled a video song ‘Take a Break’ before getting into the production of Uyare.

Normally, those who are subjected to acid attack are often portrayed as victims by society. But there are many who fight the trauma associated with acid attack and grab back their freedom like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Survivors will be the apt term for describing them.

Uyare is an uplifting film about an acid attack survivor who triumphs despite the odds stacked up against her. Elaborating the genesis of the movie, Manu Ashokan says the film is inspired by real life stories. “We have seen many women going through toxic relationships. We wanted to share those stories with the society through Pallavi, the protagonist and her relationship”, he says.

Uyare laced with a social message recently celebrated 100 day run in theatres in Kerala — a rare in today’s one week-end life of a feature film. The commercially successful movie was released in 150 screens in Kerala and 150 outside Kerala.

Uyare was also released globally in USA, Middle East and is also the first Malaylam film to be released in South Korea. “We are now working to get the film released in China,” say the sisters. Uyare is also streamed on Amazon Prime.

All these years, the sisters have been observing their father Gangadharan who has won many awards, including two National Awards for Kanakkinavu and Shantham.

“We had a great learning experience on the sets of Uyare. We learnt
nuances of filmmaking and ground reality,” say the trio. All three sisters concur to every view expressed by them individually.

S Cube Films is currently listening to scripts and looking to create content both for streaming and feature films. “We look for stories that would be liked by audiences and will do both art and commercial films. We don’t go by commercials in the film. We go by the story and script,” they say.

Exciting days are ahead for Shenuga, Shegna and Sherga. And their objective and vision are to continue the tradition and glory of Malayalam cinema.