Gorur literary classic now a web series on Katte

Well-known writer Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar’s ‘Namma Oorina Rasikaru’ is coming out next month on Katte, an OTT platform dedicated to Kannada and languages native to Karnataka.

The Kannada book has been turned into a 16-episode web series by theatre personality and filmmaker Nanditha Yadav.

Set in pre-independence India, ‘Namma Oorina Rasikaru’ is a delightful book that explores politics, relationships, exploitation, casteism, and more. “It is great to see a writer who was so progressive in the 1930s. That was what intrigued me,” Nanditha tells Showtime.

It wasn’t easy for her to convince the author’s family to give her the rights. “Because this is a classic, the responsibility is huge. Perhaps that’s why his son Govindaraju, who lives in the US, was sceptical. But I guess he trusted me after looking at my previous work,” she says.

Actively involved in Kannada theatre in Bengaluru before moving to Mumbai, Nanditha won a State award for her debut directorial ‘Raju’ (2018), a Kannada film for children.

Location hunting for the series was a challenge, she says. “Because the geography has changed so drastically, with electrification and all that, it was difficult to get the locations mentioned in the book. We went to the interiors of Malnad, and tried to get 100-year-old houses. I have tried to get the look and feel of the book correct," she explains.

The cast is led by experienced names: B Suresha, P Sheshadri, Mandya Ramesh, and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy. Ashok Kashyap and Suresh Urs have done the cinematography and editing respectively. Popular slide guitarist Prakash Sontakke is the music composer.

New platform for Karnataka

The first season of 'Namma Oorina Rasikaru' (Connoisseurs of Our Town), with eight episodes, is set to stream on Katte in the first week of June.

Katte is completely into Karnataka content, says S D Arvinda, filmmaker and co-founder of the platform.

“Along with Kannada, we are looking at original works in Tulu, Konkani, and Beary. We want to showcase content from regions like Mandya and the North Karnataka districts, made in their own dialects. Apart from these, Katte will have the regular feature films and short films,” he says.

Katte looks to generate an audience from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. “It will take some time for people there to understand, and adapt to the technology. Right now, they prefer YouTube. So our content must make them shift from YouTube to our app,” he says.

He is aware of the challenges. “We can’t look at a Rs 100 crore investment. So we are looking at models which will help us earn and reinvest."

Features of Katte

It is a new OTT platform for Karnataka content.

It has 15 segments to cover drama, music, comedy, and travel.

Subscription is Rs 499 a year.

The platform is set for a launch in the first week of June.