Searching for Berlin’s German capital, where he was a postgraduate student in cinematography at Metfilm School, filmmaker Siddharth Harikumar often felt a weight in the air, which was overshadowed by Holocost’s memory. He experienced this in public transport and museums.
He came with Nazi soldiers in several pictures holding a gun on someone’s head, forcing Siddharth to contemplate whether the soldiers had questioned their actions or their superiors.
Siddharth Harikumar, Director Vasu
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
This idea made Siddharth Vasu As part of its final year project at Metfilm School. The short film tells the story of a retired police officer, who leads a secluded life in the forest as part of its final year project at Metfilm School. Vasu The student is one of the seven finalists nominated for the Academy Awards 2025 in the story category. It is also the only film in India, which is running in four categories -Latent or experimental, animation, documentary and story.
“This is real. Vasu, Being a student project, a limited budget was built. This belief has put us on the international map, ”says Siddharth, who has also done a shortography of the short.
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On a Chennai call, Siddharth says, “I started research on frontline workers and their trauma.” “I focused on people in uniformed services in Kerala, who were forced to follow the orders of their superiors and how they lived with that crime for the rest of their lives.”
The Post-Tomatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) experienced by a retired police officer in the 16-minute film has been investigated. Siddharth says, “Vasu’s character takes shape from obedience and repression of his feelings.”
Siddharth Harikumar with actor Parmeswaran Kuriathi during shooting Vasu
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
77 -year -old Parmeswaran Kuriathi, Mankoud, a famous theater artist from Thiruvananthapuram plays the role of a title character. “A friend of a family of mine introduced me to him. When I met Parmeswaran ChettanHe had long hair and mustache. He looked like one SaintHe did not shaved in 30 years. And my first question was, ‘Are you ready to shave it?’ Fortunately, he agreed after our first statement, ”says Siddharth.
The film was shot at Chitranjali Studio in Thiruvananthapuram, except except for some scenes shot in Paid. Vasu Considers the forest as a character. The plot and visual language appropriately express a disturbing reality.
Siddharth Harikumar with actor Parmeswaran Kuriathi during shooting Vasu
Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Before he joined the Metfilm School in London, to pursue the master under film direction, Siddharth received his graduation in biotechnology. Soon after finishing his syllabus in London, his father passed away, forcing him to take a family business.
“My father supported my passion. He exposed me to good cinema at an early age. When I was 10 years old, I used to watch films that could be considered ‘boring’ at that age,” Siddharth, “Siddharth, who accepts his love for the veteran Malayalam’s director G Arvindan. Vasu,
“I did not think about cinema for five years. Then I worked on a project that woke up my passion again and wanted to study me more,” Siddharth says. In 2023, he attended Berlin’s Metfilm School to pursue a master in cinematography.
Siddharth’s previous work, Saffron (2017) In 2018, the Best Student of the Calcutta International Cult Film Festival (CICFF) won the film. Likes very much Vasu, Saffron Center on reflection, creative option by an inadvertent by the manufacturer. “I have never thought about it in this way. But I have learned a lot to see back, and perhaps the next film that I do, there can be no such element in it.”
Siddharth is currently working on the script of his first feature. “I got a proposal to teach in film schools, before I came to know about the student Oscar enrollment. It was a sign for me not to quit filmmaking yet.”
Published – August 07, 2025 11:00 AM IST