Film critics are ladders of cinema education: T S Nagabharana

A book commemorating 90 years of Kannada cinema was released on Sunday.

Bengaluru: Filmmaker T S Nagabharana stressed on the importance of cinema literacy at the launch of the book ‘ಚಂದನವನದ ಚಿಲುಮೆಗಳು / Landmarks of Sandalwood’ written by senior film journalists Sharanu Hullur and S Shyam Prasad.

Written in English by Prasad and in Kannada by Hullur, the book was released on Sunday in Bengaluru.

The event was attended by notable film personalities like actor Srii Murali, filmmakers Nagabharana, Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar and music director Hamsalekha, among others.

The book commemorates Kannada cinema’s 90th anniversary. ‘Sati Sulochana’ the first Kannada film was released on March 3 1934.

Nagabharana pointed out that such books become a tool for cinema literacy. “Film critics are ladders of cinema education. We have incorporated their feedback and criticism of our previous films into our later films,” he added.

‘ಚಂದನವನದ ಚಿಲುಮೆಗಳು / Landmarks of Sandalwood’ published by Chandanavana Film Critics Academy, Rs 2500

Srii Murali sang a song from Sangeetha Sagara Ganayogi Panchakshara Gavai. Journalist Ayesha Khanum said that the Kannada film industry is currently facing multiple challenges which have to be addressed properly to bring back the glorious years.

To celebrate 90 years, the authors chose 90 movies that were a turning point in the industry.

“We expected the Karnataka government or the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to do something to commemorate the milestone but nobody did anything. As film journalists, we hold some kind of responsibility because we grow along with the industry. So Shyam and I thought of celebrating the occasion through a book,” Hullur told DH.

Films like Sati Sulochana, Babruvahana, America America, Mysooru Mallige, KGF, Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, Mungaru Male and Duniya find mention in the book. The focus is on how these films helped shape the industry, according to Hullur.

“It was a challenge to pick 90 movies from the 5,600 odd-films that have released over the years,” he added. The book also has some rare photographs.

The bilingual book has details about each film, its background, and the reason why the authors chose them.

Prasad has been writing about cinema for about 20 years and Hullur for 15 years. They worked on the book for about seven months.