journey with in!

Cinematographer Ayillian made a docu-film on a motorcycle safari in India. K. PRADEEP finds out how




FREAKING OUT Ayillian had fun documenting the 100 Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle team in the Himalayas

They descend every year and set the roads on fire. Around hundred riders on their Royal Enfield Bullets vroom across the country in what is turning out to be a fascinating new vista in the sphere of adventure tourism - motorcycle safari.

On three such expeditions, capturing those memorable moments of the incredible journey was Ayillian, a young Kochi-based cinematographer. Organised by the British-based Enduro India, that promotes motorcycle tourism, the riders traversed through South India right up to the Himalayas.

The Journey Within

For Ayillian those journeys were not just an amazing experience. It provided him with ample material for his first documentary film. Ayillian's `The Journey Within,' was screened before an invited audience in the city recently.

"The journey is retold visually from my point of view. I have always found our documentaries sticking to a format where the movement is painfully slow. I have tried to break the usual pattern in this. With focus on the motorcycle riders, lovely scenery, it is speedy and full of life. I hope that it will inspire youngsters and attract them to documentaries," says Ayillian.

Visual narration

The 33-minute documentary is cleverly edited from rushes of over 1,500 minutes shot on these expeditions. More than the thrill, beautiful visuals, excellent sound, what really strikes one is the true pleasure of motorcycle riding.

"There is perhaps no better way to get away from the routines of daily life once in a while. By being set apart from everyone and everything the motorcyclist feels absolutely free. For most part of these journeys I pillion drove, sometimes travelling in one of the jeeps that accompanied us. Everything about motorcycle riding is fun, from shifting gears to simply feeling the wind on your face."

The making of this documentary was for Ayillian a first step in his much bigger dream. Making films was what he always wanted to do, right from childhood. Chasing this desire Ayillian dropped out of college after his pre-degree, grabbed the first chance that came about and flew to Dubai. "For three years I worked with an advertising firm there. Though most of my work was confined to post-production it was a good experience.

I returned and for two years worked as a camera assistant. It was learning on the job, something no institution could provide. That gave me the confidence. When one of the units fell on bad days and were selling their equipment I bought my first camera."

Before this documentary that explores the excitement of motorcycle tourism Ayillian worked for some interesting projects in England. "I did a series of cricket-based programmes for the Birmingham-based Raj TV, owned by a Pakistani-Briton, Raja Khan. I knew little about cricket but went about trailing Pakistani cricketers Saqlain Mushtaq and Shahid Afridi, watching them play and train for weeks. They were regularly beamed on the channel, which is on the Sky TV platform. I also did a diabetes control programme featuring Wasim Akram, a few fashion events and some Asian functions in Britain. Here, I did a work on my own, on Thai fighting, for another production company. That three-month stint was fruitful."
Portuguese venture

Back home Ayillian was much sought after by various television channels and advertising companies. "In between, I have always tried to do something close to my heart. Like, a documentary `Backwater Colours,' which had 12 eminent artists working in the course of a boat ride.

Art is something that is close to his heart too, for he is C. N. Karunakaran's son.

"I have also begun work on another documentary, which is for a Brazilian television company. It is basically an attempt to introduce Kerala to Brazil and is in Portuguese. About 800-1,000 minutes have been shot for this. That was when I was introduced to Enduro by one of my friends, Rajesh Krishna, who works for BBC."

100 Bullets

Being part of the 100 Bullets, revving in the morning, riding through places usually not on the regular tourist maps, offering an intimate interaction with nature, in a land where every corner seems to manifest an astonishing new aspect of unpredictable wonder. "My film is an attempt to present a reflection of that experience. And everyone in my production team, like my wife Zaileshia who has done the script, Jessad who has kept pace with his editing, Prax who has done the English commentary and Sooraj who has recreated the sounds, have by now had a slice of that unforgettable journey."

Category:

Film & Animation

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[deepakstrong]

Good work....

[ayillian]

thank u

[rajeshk101]

Great work mate....

Good effort...

Keep it up...

[ayillian]

thank u

[exploreindia999]

excellent video

[vixitrixalina]

*waves back to dad at 6.53*

[vixitrixalina]

my dad did this!! :)

[bigboytrucker999]

Brilliant. Thank you for bringing back so many memories of the original EnduroHimalaya, and doing it so well.