Sophia M Joe is all excited as her first movie Shabdam is all set for a theatre release, in mid-October. The Ernakulam native is in her 20s but portrays the mother of a young man in the film. What makes her stand apart, however, is that Sophia, who is deaf in real life, plays such a character in the film too.
Shabdam portrays the plight of a potter family who are deaf. The central character Chakrapani is played by actor Jayant Mammen, while Sophia and her brother Richard, who is also deaf, play the mother and son. “They are a representation of the vanishing pot making community and hearing and speech impaired people,” says the director of the film, Sreekumar PK, a veteran journalist based in Thiruvananthapuram.
The film also talks about the struggles that people like Sophia go through. “I have come across many who are deaf. They can be quite talented, even more than normal persons, but their aspirations are often side-lined. I weaved it all in the script so that these talents can come into the mainstream,” says Sreekumar.
Joe Francis, a retired central government employee, and Goretti Joe, the parents of the siblings, look forward to a normal life for their all, whom they raised like any other kids. “We identified their issue from a small age but ensured that it never held them back. Both are active in the sports field as well as modelling. Sophia was runnerup in many beauty competitions. She was also Miss Deaf India in 2014,” says an elated Goretti.
Settled in Eroor, the siblings got a chance to act in the film through Jayant, who is a close friend of their father. The parents also assisted them during the filming of the movie. “Since both are passionate about fashion and modelling, they were confident in front of the camera. Richu (Richard) surprised us when he got his first shot perfect without a second take. They are skilled in lip-reading and sign language, so he grasped the idea easily when I conveyed the script to him,” says Goretti, a primary school teacher at Bhavans Vidya Mandir, Eroor.
What hindered the duo was the improvised dialogues by other co-actors. “Richu and Sophia by heart the scenes and dialogues of their co-actors. They act their portions after lipreading their co-stars. When the others change the dialogue it confuses them,” says Goretti.
However, the siblings can take you by surprise with their bike racing talents. Both have driving licences and are getting trained in super bike racing at Coimbatore. “Sophia is the first deaf girl in our country to own a normal driving licence. She loves bikes especially the Bullet. Whenever we go for long trips, Sophia is the one who drives our car. At present they are training to get a licence for super bike racing. They aim to go for a Himalayan bike trip,” she adds.
Finance is an issue but they will never stop their children from dreaming, say their parents. “We need sponsors if they compete in bike racing shows. As parents we will do our best for the happiness of our children,” says Goretti.
Meanwhile, the siblings are thrilled to receive more film opportunities. “Can you imagine a girl playing the role of a mother of her brother? That is the spirit Sophia displayed. I wish them more opportunities to showcase their skills as individuals. We would love to see her in roles of her own age. The only way to boost their confidence is to include them in society as normal individuals,” says Joe.
No comments:
Post a Comment