Tulu cinema sidelined in 17th Bengaluru International Film Festival, says S. V. Rajendra Singh

Film Producer and Director S. V. Rajendra Singh said on Sunday that Tulu cinema has been sidelined by not being listed for screening during the 17th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival to be held from January 29 to February 6.

Mr. Singh, a former chairman of the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, said in a release that six Malayalam cinemas and four Marathi cinemas have been listed for screening at the festival, but not Tulu. “We (referring to Tulu) have become orphans being in Kannada Nadu,” he said.

He noted that the State government has extended awards and subsidies to Tulu cinema to encourage regional language filmmaking. While Tulu films bagged second and third prizes at the 16th Bengaluru International Film Festival, Mr. Singh pointed out, “None of the Tulu films have been considered for screening in the 17th edition.”

Mr. Singh said that he had sent ‘Birduda Kambula’, a Tulu movie directed by him, for selection. But it was rejected. The cinema focused on the traditional Kambala sport of Tulu Nadu. Thus, the organisers, by rejecting it, have ignored Tulu cinema and did not support a film which reflected the culture of Tulu Nadu. An ‘injustice’ has been meted out by not selecting any Tulu films at a time when demand has been growing to consider Tulu as the second State language and to include it in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, he said.