Total Khanna da!The seven-minute film, in Kannada, has gone viral since it came online in October 2024. Puneet Amarnath has written and directed the film for his YouTube channel, Ideria.
Puneeth is known for his ‘Uncle’ and ‘Manager’ series on YouTube. Founder of Ideria, a digital arm of his firm, Poster Boy Art Studio, Puneeth has acted in Kannada films including KM Chaitanya’s. respectableSrikanth Kenchappa’s Narayan Narayanmedical thriller, O2Directed by Raghav Nayak and Prashant Raj and Aakash Srivatsa Shivaji Surathkal 2,
Total Khanna Da!, It was created as a response to Kannadigas being trolled for being chauvinistic, says Puneeth. Puneeth used this allegation as a background Total Khanna Da!, Which is a peaceful message of love, acceptance and respect from a Kannadiga perspective.
The film stars Puneeth along with Sanjana Burley (she acted in the serial, Puttakkan Makkalu) and theater actor Soundarya Nagaraj. Edited by Akshay P Rao (Sidalingu), with music by Aparajith Sris (Gantumootte) Total Khanna da! Produced by Puneeth, Hariprasad and SJ Nitil Krishna for Idiriya in association with Trivarga Productions and Tricon Films.
“Over the past few years, the narrative about Kannada and Kannadigas, especially in Bengaluru, has been extremely negative. Kannadigas, who are generally known to be big-hearted, hospitable and friendly, are now being accused of being harsh. We are also made to feel guilty when we want to get information or services in Kannada.
Puneeth said the artists took a peaceful path to express themselves using theatre, art and music. ,Total Khanna da! It is said that we can be generous towards other cultures while maintaining our original nature, language and food habits. There is no need to give up your roots, culture or language to accommodate others.”
Taking a dig at the word Kannada in the title, Puneeth says, “Kanna means ‘to steal’ and the purpose of the title is to say that Kannada is a language that can steal anyone’s heart.”
Puneeth says that this film was made to protect the future of a language in a country that has the tag of diversity. ,Total Khanna da! There is an effort to ensure the identity and rights of native speakers.
Puneeth says that one is not born only Kannadiga. “Whoever has lived here for some time and accepts our culture and language as much as we accept them, even if they are not fluent in speaking the language, they are Kannadigas.”
Puneeth says, negativity towards Kannadigas has increased in the last few years. “This has happened gradually through many episodes, be it Kannadiga reservation or cab/auto drivers or the insider-outsider debate. The negative narrative has been created to such an extent that people only see the negative.
Being an observer of social media, Puneet says, he has noticed that as hatred towards Kannada and Kannadigas has increased, so has pride in the language and efforts to protect it. “While earlier people were reluctant, today locals are vocal in expressing their views. They are speaking for themselves.”
Puneeth says that the characters in the film have been created to address these issues. “When one character calls a local rude, another character points out how friendly Bengaluru has been. We have restaurants that serve paneer and kulchas, while the number of restaurants that serve local dishes like uppu saaru and mudde is decreasing.
Even at weddings, North Indian traditions, such as music And Mehndi Puneeth says, South Indian weddings are full of celebrations. “We have music wear more today sherwani in return dhotiwhen we had Mehndiwe celebrate Dandiyabut rarely talk kolataI don’t understand where and how we are being harsh.”
His perspective: Straight from the heart Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Puneeth says, the heart breaking thing is that we have accepted other cultures wholeheartedly, but we have failed to get our food, culture and language accepted by others. “As Kannada people we have failed ourselves by ignoring and leaving our culture behind, while we welcome everything else.”
While there are people who live here and have adopted the local culture and have learned Kannada, says Puneeth, there are also people who have cultural ego who question why they should learn another language when whatever they Know that we can get by with that. “They try to impose their viewpoint on others. This is what instigates fights.”
Actor who started in films as a child artiste Mitayee means And TuturiHe believes that it is unfortunate that making these claims and demands requires debate and protest. “There are many people who can stand for different things, but who can stand for their own language?”
published – December 11, 2024 09:59 am IST
