For children, by children
POWER PACKED H.G. Dattatreya with the boisterous children on the sets of Tuttoori.
Jayamala's baby, Tuttoori, is a film by children and for children. Unlike other children's films that have mostly adults in their cast and are tediously moralistic, this one has mostly children and their battle against the system. The film, Prahlad Agasanakatte's story, is directed by one of our well-known directors, P. Sheshadri.
Living in a growing city with a rising population brings with it numerous pressures and problems. Today's children, among other things, have a big problem of finding a space to play. Tuttoori addresses this issue. It also talks about youngsters getting hooked onto computers at an early age, for lack of a play space.
"As children we played such wonderful games like marakoti, lagori, pagade... We have tried to revive them in the film with Hamsalekha packing in most of the games into a lovely song," explains Jayamala excitedly.
Preparations for Tuttoori have been on for a while; but with no intentions of disturbing children during school, the team waited for the summer hols. It sent a note to some 250 schools asking them to send five talented children for a screen test. The response was overwhelming. Thousands of children swarmed the venue with enthusiastic parents and grandparents in tow.
After the Herculean task of finalising actors, the shooting — at Palace grounds — which went on for more than a month was simply festival time for kids. Jayamala's husband and cameraman Ramachandra in an interview to a Kannada magazine, describes how he found it tough to keep pace with energy levels of the children. In fact, when tragedy strikes in the film the children, so totally involved with the plot, were inconsolable.
Jayamala has more than fulfilled her promise to her daughter Soundarya, who loved the making of the film. The 15-year-old mothered every child on the sets and had her best summer camp ever.
D.G.
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Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
