Debut Malayalam short film ‘Superglue’ offers quirky glimpse into art direction

The Malayalam short film Superglue, directed by debutant short-film maker Maahir M, is offbeat and edgy. At around 25 minutes, it is about an art director Crispin, his assistants and the quest for a lost prop, which is ‘very important’ to his cousin Freddy. It is not much by way of a plot, but the way it has been executed and its contemporary feel which sets it apart. That is not all, he is also the director of hip-hop artist Baby Jean’s latest video Old Monk, released in March, which has clocked more than a million views.    

Nothing gives away the fact that this is 26-year-old Maahir’s first attempt at making a short film. Especially for someone who started curious about photography and wanted to explore what he could do with the medium. “When I was in college, I used to click photos and videos on my phone. And I came into cinematography. I liked how the camera worked,” says Maahir of how he fell in love with the camera. 

Maahir M on the set of short film ‘Superglue’
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Even as he was figuring his way around it, he landed his first director of photography assignment for a music video, Act IV, by the Malayalam hip-hop artist Anohnymouss in 2021. “It gave him an identity, him in a mask in the video,” Maahir says. With that first experience, he realised that he loved making hip-hop videos as they gave him the space to be creative. 

His second video, Baby Jean’s Bandana, was a breakthrough for him and the hip-hop artist. In fact, it is counted among the breakout songs that catapulted him onto the scene. “It was insanely good,” says Maahir. Baby Jean and he have been friends since before the hip-hop artist became the phenomenon he is.  

From the Old Monk video
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Even though the hip-hop scene is in its nascence, budget-wise, Maahir says he enjoys the work as it lets him be creative with the project. The clever use of limited resources and space is on show in Old Monk, which is slickly made and stylish. “We wanted to make something Mad Max-like, but then decided to go with something that could be done in Kochi,” says Maahir. While he does all this, movies are a part of his plan. He was an assistant director on Alappuzha Gymkhana helmed by Khalid Rahman.

Maahir confesses he did not anticipate the response that Superglue has met. Though some would take it as a showreel or showcase of his skill set, it is more than that. Maahir says he intended it as a series. As for the inspiration, like the composition of the opening shot and the look of the characters, comes from the 1995 French film La Haine. But Maahir’s version is very different, it is light. The story is quirky, with some of the dialogues are hilarious for their sheer incongruity.  

The name is intriguing. Why does he call it Superglue? “The title is intriguing in many ways. First, it is a movie about art directors, and superglue is an indispensible tool for them. In a way it is a symbol for them because it means everything about their work. Secondly, and more importantly, the narrative is a superglue to the fragmented narrative…gluing everything together. And, finally, there is a quality of excess to it. Unlike normla glue, you can’t get it off your hands once it is on them. That excess in also the film’s spirit. It was suggested by Gagan Dev, who wrote the screenplay.”

Superglue sound track has been composed by Anohnymouss and Sidharth Satheesh.

Superglue is streaming on YouTube