How a DH article inspired a Kannada film on caste

Uma Y G, a Ninasam graduate, plays the female lead. She debuted in the acclaimed Telugu comedy ‘Cinema Bandi’ (2021).

The article.

“If movies are made on inequality, and caste in Tamil, people watch them. Kannada audience is yet to get used to such movies,” says the director of the upcoming movie ‘Paalaar’. The movie is slated to release in February, if things go as per plan.

Naveen Kumar B, aka Jeeva Naveen, hailing from Gauribidanur in the Chikkaballapura district, loved cinema right from his childhood. After finishing his MBA in 2012, he moved to Hong Kong for a job. He participated in film workshops to hone his craft. He returned to India and planned his debut Kannada feature.

Naveen says an article in Deccan Herald titled — ‘Why Kannada movies shy away from caste experience’ — inspired him to script ‘Paalaar’. “A story takes birth based on what the writer sees and experiences right from childhood. I have weaved various incidents that took place in our village into a story,” he says. A lot of village folks can relate to the story as they would have experienced the issues shown in the film, he adds.

Fittingly for Naveen, his film’s trailer was released by Pa Ranjith, the Tamil filmmaker who championed Dalit empowerment through his works and spurred an anti-caste movement in Tamil cinema.

Naveen says that a producer, who pledged support for the film, backed out and that worked as a blessing in disguise for him. He had to fund the film but that ensured he never compromised on quality. Instead of sets, the movie was shot in natural settings.

Movies on inequality, and caste are few and far in the Kannada Film Industry. But Naveen wanted to show that such subjects can also be treated commercially. “I wanted to make this film without worrying about its result to dispel the myth that Kannada cinema cannot touch the subject of caste,” says Naveen.

The movie portrays the feudalistic society of the past in all its ugliness. “A veteran who watched the movie appreciated it for its hard-hitting, straightforward approach. Movies we thus far seen have tried to portray caste atrocities indirectly,” he says, adding that he was worried that all words related to caste might get censored. But he says the censor process was a breeze without problems.

“We have used the Kannada language prevalent in the Kolar region,” he says. In order to enhance the element of nativity in the movie, he identified Uma Y G, a singer and theatre artiste who graduated from the theatre group Ninasam, for the female lead role. Hailing from the Kolar region, she spoke the language of the land, and fit the bill perfectly. Tilak Raj, a civil engineering student hailing from Devanahalli and trained at the National School of Drama, plays the male lead.

“There are many directors who make movies about good-looking, rich people. But films rarely focus on the problem of inequality, and women get affected by it,” she observes, adding that ‘Paalaar’ is a strong female-driven movie.

Varada Raju Chikkaballapura, who worked on the lyrics for Kannada versions of songs from ‘Pushpa’, ‘RRR’ and other movies, has penned the songs for ‘Paalaar’. Several actors in the film are from theatre groups such as Ninasam, Rangayana and television serials.

Will the movie be embraced by people from all sections of society? “Even the privileged will like the film. We realised it after a special screening to a select audience,” he replies.

“More directors should come forward to tell such real stories of this land and make the Kannada audience habituated to watching such content,” says Naveen.