Lokamani Sivaraj Ponmakal

Lokamani Sivaraj Ponmakal was born from a deep discomfort I felt observing how online stories are consumed today—especially in the age of digital media where truth is often reshaped into content and human lives are reduced to “engagement metrics.

”As a filmmaker I was drawn to the contrast between two worlds:one a young tribal girl holding onto a pure and personal dream and the other a fast-moving media ecosystem that thrives on sensationalism.

The decision to cast a real tribal girl Sudha Lakshmy and to adopt an experimental “club of rushes” narrative style was intentional. I wanted to dissolve the line between performance and reality. This film is not just about authenticity—it attempts to exist within it. The rawness you see is not polished it is lived.The film invites viewers to step into the moral conflict of the journalist—someone who begins with ambition but is forced to choose between career survival and human dignity. At the same time it celebrates the quiet strength of a girl who dares to dream beyond the boundaries imposed on her.

This project became more than storytelling. It became an inquiry—into ethics representation and the invisible power structures that decide whose story gets told and how.Also I question the cost of ambition in a world where success is often built on someone else’s vulnerability.Ultimately this film is not offering answers. It is holding up a mirror.