The award winning Tulu movie Madipu will be re-released in select multiplexes in Mangaluru and Bengaluru in the second week of May, according to its director Chetan Mundadi.
Madipu (which means prayer before spirit) is based on ‘Kola’ — an annual ritual in reverence of the spirit that is part of the worship tradition — which professes communal harmony. The film, which was first released in the second week of March, was adjudged the best regional feature film in the 64th National Film Awards on April 7.
Speaking to The Hindu after the film’s screening at the recent four-day NITTE International Film Festival here, Mr. Mundadi said the earnings from the first week of release were not encouraging. “It was a challenge I took up to come out with a meaningful Tulu film and do away with the perception that Tulu films run only if there is an element of comedy,” he said.
Mr. Mundadi said with the film getting a national award, he plans to re-release it. He has also proposed to screen it in Dubai. “I am working out the schedule,” he said.
The film is about Kurumbila, an elderly man who finds it hard to hand over the reins of playing the role of “Jumaadi” (the spirit) during Kola to his son Neelayya, whom he had adopted from a Muslim couple. “This film is an honest attempt to make people understand the need for harmony. There is no better way to do so than by highlighting rich practices that profess this belief.”
