Film on Pulikali an Onam gift to Kerala, says Facebook India head Ajit Mohan

A pall of gloom had descended on the world after the coronavirus spread like a wildfire in 2020. People talked only about the pandemic and how to take guard against the dreaded disease.

The scenario was no different in Kerala either. It even muted the southern Indian state’s biggest festival, Onam. The usual pomp and splendour associated with the festival were missing.

Public events and cultural shows did not happen. Everybody sat indoors due to lockdown restrictions.

But on September 3, a little known folk art group based in the central Kerala district of Thrissur brought cheers back on the faces of Malayalis across the world by performing Pulikali -- tiger dance in Malayalam which is a major component of the Onam celebrations -- on the world stage.

Guess how?

By 3pm, 17 artists, who painted their bodies bright red and black, got ready for the event. But they didn’t prance around the Thrissur town together.

Instead, each artist stood in front of the mobile phones and gleefully showcased colourful pot-bellies and feral dance steps through the Facebook page of the troupe, Ayyanthole Desam Pulikkali Samghataka Samithi.

More than 50,000 Malayalis watched the one-hour show from different parts of the world. Little wonder, then, that the event became the much-talked-about Onam spectacle in 2020. 

 Now, Facebook has paid glowing tributes to the rural artists with an eight-minute film based on the real-life event.

Titled ‘Roar Together’, the film tells the story of how the troupe hit upon the idea of using virtual space and executed their plan using the Facebook application.

The film was released on August 18. Facebook collaborated with award-winning director Atul Kattukaran to bring the story alive.

 Facebook India’s Vice-President and Managing Director Ajit Mohan told Onmanorama that the film is a gift to Kerala as it celebrates its harvest festival of Onam.

“We came across the Ayyanthole Desam Pulikkali Samghataka Samithi’s virtual twist to Onam celebrations while doing research for promotional campaigns. What they did was simply superb. Roar Together is a film based on a real-life story. With this, we wanted to celebrate the regional cultural moments that are important in the lives of Indians,” he said. 

“Onam is the festival celebrated with great fervour by Malayalis across the globe. We wanted to capture the essence of the Onam and the various traditions around it,” said Ajit, who hails from Kochi in Kerala and treasures many fond childhood memories about Onam.

“I still cherish the sight of floral carpet and the taste of Onam Sadya though I am not in Kerala now,” he said.

More together

The Pulikali troupe’s effort, Ajith said, perfectly fits into Facebook’s core belief the people can do more together than alone. 

“While traditions are repurposed to fit into a more physically distant present, we wanted to showcase how people can come together to create new memories on  Facebook.

Our campaign 'More Together' celebrates the power of connections and people coming together and is focused on the fact that even when you are far apart, you are together through Facebook,” he said.

'Avenue for Creators'

Ajit said content creators — digipubs, video creators, gaming creators, media companies, cultural institutions, businesses of all sizes and more — build vibrant communities on Facebook.

“We want them to have the tools and support they need to earn money and thrive, whether creating and sharing content is a primary business, one of many revenue streams, or a lifeline that’s kept their business afloat during the pandemic,” he said.

He cited the examples of Chef Suresh Pillai, a former BBC Masterchef contestant, and 87-year-old Mary Joseph Mambilly, to explain how Facebook transformed people’s lives.

 Pillai transitioned from being a hotel head chef to finding community love for his recipe videos on Facebook and Instagram. His homestyle cooking makes videos relatable to everyone who loves simple but authentic food. His followers increased manifold in one year.

Mary Joseph Mambilly, 87, a resident of Chittattukara near North Paravoor, became a social media star after her grandson Jinson, who had come on vacation from his job abroad, began creating videos of their interactions that grew popular.

Earnings from Facebook helped her grandson shift back to India to stay with her, and even start a pickles/sauces brand named after his grandma.

'Videos top priority'

Ajit said videos are a huge priority for Facebook in India. “In India, almost 416 million people access Facebook every month. Of these, 234 million people access Facebook every day. India has become a video-first Internet market. 70-80% of all data in the country is on video.

Given the predominant role of video in driving online consumption and social experiences in India, video is a huge priority for us,” he said. 

Onam Augmented Reality

As part of Onam celebrations, Facebook has rolled out an Augmented Reality filter (AR filter) that will take Pulikali to users in yet another way.

With the filter, users can don the mask of a roaring tiger themselves and virtually place themselves in Swaraj Round, Thrissur where Pulikali happens every year. To use the AR filter, users can go to the newsfeed, go to the camera, and search for the ‘Roaring Onam’.

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