PN Ramachandra’s Putaani Party

Published on July 14, 2009 by govinda · No Comments

Two years back there was a time when Ramchandra PN used to carry a projection set up – complete with a portable screen and a sound system – and roam about in the villages of Udupi and Mangalore districts trying to screen his Tulu language digital film ‘Suddha’ (The Cleansing Rites). His plans of having a modest release of the film in one of the many digital theaters that have mushroomed in Coastaln Karnataka went kaput because U.F.O, the company that provides the technology for such a digital exhibition of films, had refused to take up this film,. The official reason given was that it was shot on Standard Definition Digital Video. Notwithstanding, ‘Suddha’ has had over hundred screenings in the villages of coastal Karnataka.

Two years down the line, the same director has come up with another film, this time in Kannada language, called ಪುಟಾಣಿ ಪಾರ್ಟಿ / Putaani Party. The film has been shot on the 35mm gauge, in the cinemascope format and with Dolby SR technology. The 75 minutes film, produced by the Children’s Film Society, India; is complete and ready for exhibition, but it is looking for a system that can provide it with an audience.

The film, which has north Kannada dialect in it, was shot in nineteen days in a village near Dharwad. To get the feel of the dialect right, it has used local actors, most of them first timers in films. Mr. Ramachandra explains about his film as follows: “The film is all about a group of elected representatives of children discovering their own voice when they outsmart their adult counterparts to set right things that they think are undesirable to their constituency.”

A children’s film, in India, would necessarily have almost by default an adventure or a magic element to it. Such is the stereotype! ‘Putaani Party’ looks at its story line on a realistic as-a-matter-of-fact level, yet it proposes to appeal to children of all age groups. A couple of trial screenings for children, says the director, have proved that the children were very receptive.

The film has cinematography by Sameer Mahajan who has won the ‘Best Cinematographer’ award at the Orissa State Film Awards in 2006. Vijay Prakash, the Mumbai based Kannadiga singer, who has lent his voice in Hindi mainstream films (‘Cheeni Kum’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Yuvraj’, ‘Gaalipata’ etc.), has provided with the background music. It is his first film as a music director. Theater artists Bhavani Prakash and Jayalakshmi Patil too play two pivotal roles in the film.

Ramachandra is based away from the usual Gandhinagara producers and is based in Mumbai. His film doesn’t have the so called commercial elements. All the director wants is that the film should reach the target audience. There is people who are expecting good movies. There are technicians who are making good films. But how do you we convey it to the target audience is the question. Film Society is an answer for this problem. The film is produced by Children’s film Society of India.

Those who are interested in screening the movie or helping the movie crew in reaching the movie to the audience may contact the film makers:

SON K FILMS
B 603, Satellite Park,
Jogeshwari-e, Mumbai 400060
sonkfilms@gmail.com