BIFFES 2020: ‘Nirmala’ deals with open defecation, says 14-year-old director Lohith Prakash

The Kannada movie Nirmala, which has been made by children, is slated to be screened at the Bengaluru International Film Festival 2020 (BIFFES 2020) on Monday (Mar 2) and it created a fair deal of buzz among those in attendance. Speaking exclusively to DH, the film’s 14-year-old director Lohith Prakash said that the film deals with open defecation and tries to send out a positive message.

“Nirmala is not a commercial film. It focuses on conveying a social message and highlights the problem of open defecation” he added.

Talking about his professional background, Lohith said that he developed an interest in filmmaking while undergoing a two-year-long training course and this prompted him to make a full-fledged feature film.

“I was part of a class where they train in the craft (acting and filmmaking) for two years. During the same, I took interest in filmmaking,” he added.

Even though those below 18 are not allowed to be a part of BIFFES 2020, Lohith secured a ‘student pass’ through his workshop and this helped him attend the grand event. Talking about the new experience, he said that BIFFES is a terrific platform as it helps movie buffs watch plenty of international films.

“We get to see movies made in other languages, which gives us good exposure. This truly is a good experience for me,” he added.

Nirmala has been produced by Ullas Cine Creations in collaboration with Om Studios.

Meanwhile, popular Kannada movies such as Darshan-Rashmika Mandanna's Yajamana the Rakshit Shetty starrer Avane Srimannarayana are set to be screened today (Mar 1) and this means Sandalwood fans are in for a treat