Mangalore: ‘Gothanaga Porthaand’ - Tulu Serial on Suvarna TV
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (SR/CN)
Mangalore, Sep 14: ‘Gothanaga Porthaand’, a Tulu serial directed by National Award winner Shivadhwaj, to be telecast on the channel ‘Suvarna’, was launched after a press meet held here at Ocean Pearl on Monday September 13.
B R Shetty, launching the serial, said that it was happy to see all talented artistes from the region as regional culture is growing through TV channels. He said that he could proudly say that we are quality people spread all over the world who can reach great heights.
Jagadish Kumar, president, Star India (South), said that we can see the humor that is enjoyed by people from the region. “Our motto is getting Tulu culture its due as well as better acceptance in Karnataka for Tulu language. Statistics show that we have 5 million Tulu-speaking people all over the world and the population is equal to that of Singapore or a quarter of Australia and we cannot ignore such a huge audience”, he added.
A Tulu cultural programme was organized where Yakshagana, Kolata and many other Tulu folk programmes were presented.
In the press meet, before the prgramme, Anup Chandrashekaran, business head, Suvarna, said, “We are planning to increase the viewership base and so, we are trying to bring in a lot of initiative; we are trying to bring different kinds of programmes and trying to get various kinds of viewers. The dominance of Tulu language in coastal Karnataka made us include Tulu serials to cater to the needs of people staying in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts”. He said that he was proud that Suvarna was the first channel in India to include a Tulu programme.
Tulu actor Navin D Padil was thankful to Suvarna for encouraging Tulu language. “Previously, we had never got such encouragement. We have talented artistes in Kannada and Hindi and many other languages but none of the actors got a chance to act in a Tulu serial and this is good news for the Tulu artistes of the region”, he said.
Director Shivadhwaj said that he had dreamt of bringing Tulu language and culture to television and this dream will come true with the launch of the serial. He also added that reality shows of the region like ‘Kesaru Gadde Ota’ and ‘Mosaru Kudike’ shall also be shown in the television programmes after Tulu movies are shown on Suvarna.
Twenty episodes of the serial have been completed and 30 artistes have acted in it. The team plans to produce 160 episodes in all and might exceed that number. “Each episode carries a social message. The serial will be launched on Saturday September 18 and can be watched on Saturdays and Sundays from 1.30 pm to 2.00 pm”.
Raja Ravi, fiction head, Suvarna, and Jayaram Banan, owner, Ocean Pearl, were also present during the press conference and the launch.