It's logical to demand a certificate in Kannada: Pawan

Ace Kannada director Pawan Kumar’s short film ‘Asmite’, released on YouTube on Rajyotsava day, is part of the project ‘Kannadadali’ (in Kannada). The venture sees Pawan joining hands with six other directors. The team plans to submit an anthology of short films to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and demand a certificate in Kannada. This is their idea of opposing Hindi imposition.

The idea was formed after a Facebook-video of Pawan wasn’t well-received by people. Pawan’s strong opinions on protesting in a symbolic manner were met with mixed reactions, with many criticising the filmmaker for belittling people’s sentiments towards the ‘anti-Hindi imposition movement’.

In response, Pawan announced the project much to the appreciation of his fans. In a free-wheeling chat with DH, the director opens up on his outburst on Facebook, his stance on the ongoing ‘anti-Hindi imposition movement’, about the project, and more. Excerpts:

Like your first video on the issue, do you still feel people aren’t outraging progressively?

Looking back, what happened was that I was a bit emotional that day. When I put up a status or video on social media I think that I am talking to people I know. Because they know me for so long, they know what I mean. But now I have realised that social media interprets you in the way it wants to feel. My outburst was about two things. We don’t have to show outrage against another language. We must talk about what we want rather than what we don’t. ‘Stop imposition but give it to me in my language’, should be our demand.

Has the filming of ‘Asmite’ influenced your opinion on the issue?

First of all, let’s not keep the protest to one day. I can only talk about the domain I work in. There are no corporate media houses in Kannada. We must form communities to understand what’s required for a Kannada audience. We constantly tell multiplexes to give us shows but why can’t we come together and build our own platforms to show films? Even with the OTT channels, we are constantly dependent on multinational companies. And if we create something here, we create jobs for people. I don’t deny their point of view either. I understood it was a matter of identity. By denying what you deserve they are also denying that you exist. I agree with them on that aspect.

Are you optimistic about getting the film certificate in Kannada from the CBFC?

There are two-three concerns. This is a policy-change protest. Even if the government has to give it in Kannada, they have to make changes at a very deep level. They have to do a policy change at the parliament level. But it’s a way of protest. My idea of ‘Kannadadali’ was to show that we are making films, which thereby create content and give jobs to people. It’s a great way of informing those who don’t know about the issue. Finally, you are telling the government that it is a logical and right thing to ask in Kannada. And when they say no, we create conversations around the subject. Maybe the media will talk or we go to the I&B ministry. Right now, there are only 360 people who have come forward to help us. We have raised Rs 1,20,000 which isn’t enough. Let’s see how this progresses.

In the video, you said many pass remarks that you are an ‘English-speaking person with no Bhasha abhimana’. How do you identify yourself?

Look, I was brought up in school which said if you talk in Kannada you will be fined. If you watched a Kannada film at that time, it wasn’t cool at all. It is when I started spending time with people like Yogaraj Bhat and Jayant Kaikini, I realised what I had lost. As a child, I wasn’t great with languages. Though I write my dialogues for my films, my thinking is always in English. With my films, I tried to change people who thought about Kannada films and the language like me. But in social media, there are always people who discourage you and comment negatively. You just have to overlook them.