Mahdi Ahmed

In 2009, a quiet storm passed through Maldivian literature. It came in the form of a long story titled Yuktha, penned with grace and conviction by Yashfa Abdul Qani. The piece went on to win first place at the National Long Story Competition — and rightfully so. It wasn’t just a work of fiction; it was a reflection of buried truths, crafted with emotional intelligence and a deep understanding of the unspoken.

When I was handed this story to adapt, I knew immediately that it demanded more than a simple retelling. It asked for care. It asked for bravery. And it asked for honesty.

Adapting a long story into a screenplay is never just about converting prose into scenes. It’s about translation — not of language, but of essence. What works powerfully on the page, nestled between narration and inner monologue, must now live and breathe through images, dialogue, silences, and performance. You’re not just recreating the story — you’re restructuring it so it thrives in a visual and temporal medium.

And with Kan’bulo, the weight of that responsibility was greater than usual. The story had resonance. It had urgency. But most of all, it had a protagonist who demanded her truth be told — not sensationalized, not softened — but told with authenticity.

I approached the adaptation process not as someone trying to rework a text, but as someone trying to protect it. To preserve the emotional heartbeat of Yashfa’s writing while allowing the film version to have its own rhythm. That meant hard choices — what to keep, what to let go, what to reimagine, and how to give characters a voice when the page had once carried their silence.

It was a delicate balance of loyalty and liberty. And I hope I’ve honored the spirit of what Yashfa created.

As Kan’bulo prepares to meet its audience, I want to take a moment to express my respect and gratitude to Yashfa Abdul Qani. Without her vision, there would be no story to adapt. Her courage in telling this story laid the foundation for everything that followed. I was just the one invited to build on it.

Kan’bulo is set to be released on 31 August 2025.