After attending the STORYMORPH screenwriting workshop, organised by the Singapore Indian Theatre & Film Explorers and the National Library Board, Mr Ahas Kalai, 21, went a step further and turned his screenplay into a short film.
Titled Athisayam (Miracle), the short film is based on the Tamil short story, Viral (Finger), written by Mdm Kamaladevi Aravindan, 75, who was inducted into the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame this year for her contributions to local arts and culture.
It tells the story of Paavadai, a migrant worker in Singapore who injures his finger in a workplace accident. Rather than overplaying the theatrics of the accident, the film turns its lens towards the emotional plight of these workers who have been separated from their families.
The filmmaking is simple yet refined, juxtaposing close-up shots of Paavadai’s quietly troubled expressions with flashbacks of conversations with his wife and child, who ask if he’ll return to India to celebrate Deepavali with them.
In honour of the film’s subject, Mr Ahas collaborated with the Migrant Workers’ Centre and ItsRainingRaincoats, a local charity supporting migrant workers, to arrange for about 25 workers to attend a Deepavali-special screening of Athisayam at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (SIFAS) Annexe on Oct 12.
Migrant worker Mr Vijaya Das, shared that the film realistically captured their lived experiences. “We mostly keep our thoughts and feelings to ourselves, even if we’re in pain, we will put up with it and go to work because we have to,” he said.
After the film was shown, the cast and crew invited the workers on stage to join a cake-cutting ceremony celebrating the film’s successful reception, culminating in a heartfelt moment when Mr Ahas fed cake to the workers.
All the workers were given a keychain of the film’s poster and a bento box meal for dinner after the event, sponsored by AAPIX Production, which is co-owned by Mr Ahas and his older brother, Mr Aravind Kalai, 24.
Around 55 people attended the screening, including Mdm Kamaladevi, Mr Ahas’s family and friends, former colleagues, and the Guest of Honour, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Manpower, Dinesh Vasu Dash.
Mr Dinesh praised the young cast and crew, most of whom were polytechnic students.
“Having people to support migrant workers is important. Beyond the law and healthcare, having the arts to demarcate the journey of migrant workers is also important. Not many of us will understand the ups and downs that they go through,” Mr Dinesh said.
“We have over a million migrant workers in Singapore, but without them, I don’t think Singapore would be where we are today. Ultimately, all of us, locals and migrant workers, are here to build Singapore, and I’d like to believe the glue that’s cementing all of us together is the arts,” he added.
In another heartfelt moment, Mdm Kamaladevi wrapped a ceremonial shawl around Mr Ahas, which surprised him and brought tears of joy from his parents, who were seated in the front row of the cinema hall.
“It was a proud moment as parents to witness our children grow up and put so much effort into organising events that uplift the Indian community, attended by the minister and Mdm Kamaladevi,” said Ahas’ father, Mr Kalai Selvan.
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9 Sep 2025 11:43
