If you are active online and follow Kannada and Kannada cinema, then Puneeth BA will not be a stranger to you. The youngster has been using social media to promote everything related to Kannada cinema on his handle, Poster Boy Art Studio. “I give my own take on old film posters and upload them on my page, hence the name.”
Puneeth has gained more fans on his YouTube channel where he has posted four videos called Honest Work From Home Meetings. The hilarious videos have gone viral.
The video has Puneeth who plays a manager conducting an office meeting on his phone with a few of his colleagues. The viewer gets a sense of the colleagues by Puneeth’s conversations with them.
“He is your typical Kannadiga who speaks English with a Kannada accent. Instead of talking about work, initiated by the manager, the colleagues discuss their lives — the marriage of a colleague, another’s issue with premature balding and so on. “He is a jolly guy, he encourages his colleagues to watch their wedding videos and they are supposed to share what they learnt from watching the videos in the next day’s meeting.”
Puneeth says the videos were randomly created. “I had a few friends working in software who told me they were anxious and depressed cooped up at home. I thought why not create something light and funny about office life and that is how Honest Work From Home Meetings came to be.”
The videos have had 1.2 million views in the last four weeks. “The videos clicked because people connected to the manager. I think what caught on is also the manager’s laughter. Comedy always works as people can engage with it. They connect with laughter. In fact, for the manager series people have even sent me cartoons they have created on the manager’s character.”
On whether the series will continue, Puneeth says, “It depends on the lockdown. In the fourth episode, the manager does announce that they will next meet in the office.” Puneeth says he has a few scripts. “I am nor sure what format I want to use— a full length feature, a short film or a series on YouTube. I will decide later.”
Check out the videos on https://youtu.be/bl1z_gOKBUw
