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Wake-up call: ‘Puzhoyozhukum Vazhikal.’

What made Sajith Anchal, the man behind this documentary, journey with the river?

“An earlier project on Koothambalams was a revelation of sorts for me. The realisation that the course of the river also mapped the cultural and political growth of our people made me take up the task of chronicling the imprint of Malayalee culture that grew on the banks of the Nila,” says the filmmaker.

Nila does not follow a straight and narrow route; in its course from Ottappalam to Ponnani, it curves and bends every few kilometers, irrigating more stretches of parched earth than it would otherwise have.

The two banks of the river have been veritable repositories of fine arts and culture, awakening and enlightenment. The film shows that the banks have been the centres of learning, home to great men, like Ezhuthachan and witness to the Mamankkam.

Political history too was etched here with the Malabar Kalapam, Congress Sammelan and important meets of the Communist party being held here.

Interspersing the documentary with verses by ONV Kurup and Ayyappa Panikker and sopana sangeetham, the soliloquy of the Nila is arresting.

Strains of sopanam rendered by Njeralath Harigovindan and the impassioned narration intoned by Nedumudi Venu have contributed greatly in creating the mood for the film.

But the film does not just gloat on the past glory. It takes you through contemporary issues of damming the flow, sand mining, and silting. Unmindful of the atrocities by man, the film tells us, quiet flows the Nila.

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