Mangaluru: Karkera Brothers of Namma Kudla group announced the launch of TV channel ’Namma Kudla talkies’, on February 18, to screen Tulu films before they release in the theatres so fans can watch them in the safety of their homes.
“The concept of this is similar to that of a home theatre which provides exclusive Tulu films,” said Navneet Shetty, CEO of Kudla Talkies.
“We will have a selection team who will pick out the film which will be shown three times on Sunday (noon, evening and night) through Namma Kudla talkies. We will seek rights for broadcasting the film for one month after which only, the film can be screened anywhere else,” Navneet said. “The customers can watch films by paying Rs 120 to the cable operator or Rs 160 fixed for HD connection.”
Arjun Kapikad, actor and representative of Namma Kudla group explained how this idea was proposed to tackle the many problems faced by the Tulu film industry. “One of the major problems was the decrease in viewership especially with many theatres closing down due to Covid. This becomes a bigger risk for the producers who are afraid to even invest 20 to 30 lakhs,” he said.
Arjun said that the major population of Tuluvas are not aware of the platforms like Amazon through which they can watch the movies. “‘Namma Kudla talkies’ gives easier access to people and from now on, Tulu movies will be at their fingertips,” he said.
This initiative is also expected to bring in more investors to the table which will in turn produce more quality movies for the people to enjoy.
Arjun hopes that this will benefit the industry and the new concept of film making.
