Come next academic year, the students of Government Vocational Higher Secondary School (GVHSS) in Agali, Attappadi,with a strength of 2,400, half of which belongs to the tribal community, will shoot their lessons and activities and screen them in the 3D digital theatre classroom set up at the school.

The film club and the theatre which lead these innovative activities were inaugurated on August 5,2022. As part of the inaugurated, a short film competition was held for students coinciding with the Children's Day. The short films were to be made by students themselves. The students made eight quality films and they were given prizes for their performance as scriptwriters, actors and directors. Amoung them, there were even students who have not been to a theatre in their life time, said Sindhu Mithra, one of the teachers who is in charge of the Film Club.

Therefore we thought if the students are made to prepare the video content of their lessons, they could become experts and it will also make them self-confident. The 3D theatre is an edutainment facility which features an advanced audio-visual system and also a 4K resolution projection system. The 56 seat theatre has an acoustic system and a theatre style gallery structure for clear screen viewing, said Sindhu.

The Impact of the initiative on students has been tremendous. For instance, Aflah who is in the Sixth standard and who has not been to a theatre in his lifetime now operates all the systems and clears the doubts of even teachers. The fact that the students can write the script, shoot, edit and exhibit a film with dialogues is a great achievement. Feels Sindhu.

The film club is the brain-child of Dr Sohan Roy, a UAE businessman who is the founder chairman and CEO of Sharjah-headquartered Aries Group. He had visited the school during the shooting of the film 'Mmmm' in Atappadi which was produced by him. The film narrates the tale of honey collectors from the Kurumba tribe.

When Sohan Roy visited the school, he asked the students around 10 questions and all of them related to practical knowledge, said K G Sunil, president of the school PTA.

Sohan Roy asked the students whether they know farming activities. Weather they do household chores, and whether they can climb a tree. Most of the students answered in the affirmative. Finally, he asked the students as to how many of them have gone to theatre and seen a film. Nearly all students replied that they have not gone to a theatre as it was far away. It was then that he offered to set up a digital theatre, Sunil said.

The students themselves operate the projection system. regulate the light and sound to show their works at the school. Thus, now the students can not only see films in a theatre but also understand their technicalities, said Sunil.

The film club and related activities are part of a project titles 'Efficiency Improvement System Management' which will be executed in the school over a period of five years.

"The first year of the project involves research and creation of awareness. In the second year the students can interact with industry captains and those persons associated with world cinema. I am associated with the shipping industry in the UAE. But I find that the students who come out of our polytechnics are not suitable for employment in industries and they need to be trained afresh. Education should be industry-oriented, and at the digital theatre clasroom, the students can interact with industrialists and understand their needs. Said Dr Sohan Roy. The digital classroom theatre has been set up at a cost of Rs.15 Lakh which will provide students education and entertainment making it an incredible experience for them. Said Dr Sohan Roy.

Credits and copyright : Indian Express