search me in the Oranges… directed by Sumanth Maroju

What did Sumanth Maroju say about his film?

“search me in the Oranges…” is not just a film – it is a memory woven with wind, silence, and fragile threads of longing. What began as a personal meditation on love, loss, and the fleeting nature of human connections slowly evolved into a deeply collaborative filmmaking journey. The film expresses the complexities and dilemma of human existence and the project that we took as a mere diploma film evolved into a cinematic tapestry that honors both emotional depth and visual elegance.

The film traces the story of a man who writes letters to his departed lover and sends them into the sky, tied to fragile paper kites. The kite itself became both, a metaphor and a living character that is fragile, temporary, yet endlessly reaching for the infinite.

 The crew was small, almost like a wandering troupe carrying only what was essential. Each member wore multiple hats. The assistant director doubled as production designer, our sound recordist handled our logistics and of course the roles of director, writer, editor, casting and acting has been carried out by 1 person. The production was marked by resourcefulness, balancing budget constraints with creative ambition and shot in real locations to preserve authenticity. We shot in natural light, often waiting hours for the skies to shift. For an instance the first shot of the film, i.e., timelapse of the sunrise, got us waiting for 10 days as the sky started pouring and we missed it every time, until the last day, it showed mercy.

The locals were the most supportive who guided us through the landscapes and became part of the film’s invisible fabric. The villagers of Pasighat did not just host us, they breathed life into the film. From lending us props to sharing oral folk tales, their presence shaped the rhythm of “search me in the Oranges…”.