NEW ENGLAND TULU KOOTA BOSTON USA: Screening of the Tulu movie CHAALI POLILU

By Kavita Shetty

Chali Polilu is a hilariously light-hearted comedy movie screened by the New England Tulu Koota (NETK) in Cambridge, MA. NETK President Bhaskar Sherigar was instrumental in screening the movie in the US, through the kind auspices of Honorary President Dr. Sudhakara Rao along with Executive Committee member Aneesh Puttur and Secretary Puja Shetty who publicized the event.

This Tulu language movie filmed in the idyllic setting of ‘Tulunadu’ in South Karnataka revolves around three childhood friends who as adults are jobless drifters given to pranks. Their boisterous behavior often landed them in trouble with their families and neighbors until a serious criminal accusation was leveled against them. This led to a series of comedic encounters during their quest to find the real perpetrator of the crime. The movie had a surprisingly beautiful finale eliciting applause from the audience at the end. The beauty of the movie lay in the presentation of the picturesque and authentic setting of the village life in ‘Tulunadu’ interspersed with local proverbs and sayings that the Tulu-speaking audience in the theatre had grown up with.

 

  

For a short period of time, the audience felt transported to their distant native land replete with palm trees, rivulets, houses with red-tiled roofs, people wearing traditional outfits and speaking in their native dialect. The screening of this movie in the Boston area is part of NETK’s continuing effort to preserve and nourish the culture and traditions of the gentle and enterprising people of ‘Tulunadu’.