Kesari Haravoo, a critically acclaimed Kannada filmmaker, making a film on farmers’ protests

Kesari Haravoo, filmmaker.

Noted Kannada filmmaker Kesari Haravoo is in the process of making a film on the farmers’ protests that have been taking place at the borders of Delhi for the past three months. Speaking to Frontline , Haravoo, who is back in Bengaluru now, said that he was in Delhi for a several days in December and January where he was shooting footage for his film. “I was at all the three protest sites at Tikri, Singhu and Ghazipur and have several hours of footage,” Haravoo said. An interesting observation that he made based on his time spent among the protesting farmers was that “the farmers are no longer quiescent and subordinate”. Several persons from Karnataka, including farmers’ activists and concerned citizens, have been at the protest sites in Delhi to lend support to the protests that have garnered global attention.

Haravoo’s project has drawn tremendous expectation as the filmmaker’s past films have drawn critical acclaim. Haravoo first drew attention for his film ‘Bhoomi Geetha’ which won the ‘National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation’ in 1997. Subsequently, Haravoo went on to make several documentaries on environmental issues including Aghanashini and her Children (2006) on the ecological importance of the Aghanashini river. His short film Wither Gundia? was a finalist at the United Nations Forum on Forests Film Festival in 2013. In 2016, Haravoo made a feature-length documentary on Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and one of its prominent leaders, K. S. Puttannaiah. With a consistent interest in environmental and agricultural issues, the passionate filmmaker could not sit back and ignore the massive farmers’ protests and set forth to make a film on the issue.

“I’m heading back to Delhi in a few days and also intend to visit the agricultural hinterland of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh to gather final footage for the film. I’ve also planned a visit to Bihar to see how the agricultural systems work in the State without guaranteed Minimum Support Price in operation,” Haravoo said.

The filmmaker has released a short promo of his forthcoming film on Youtube ( https://youtu.be/m5-5sW883H4 ). Haravoo is also seeking crowdfunding to complete his film. Readers interested in contributing can contact him at kesari.haravoo@gmail.com or contribute directly to his UPI id, kesari.haravoo@oksbi.