Film Workers' Assn says dubbing will harm a 'growing' Sandalwood

The Kannada Film Workers' Association, the Okkutta, has strongly opposed the move by the state's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan to dub the Hindi film Taare Zameen Par (2007) into Kannada.

Inspired by the sensitive handling of the education of a dyslexic child depicted in Taare..., directed and produced by Aamir Khan, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan had proposed the film's dubbing in Kannada so that it could be screened in government schools across the state to create awareness.

However, no films have been dubbed into Kannada from Hindi or other languages since 1960. The Okkutta has resisted dubbing, saying that it would block the development of Kannada films at a time when the industry is still growing and in need of protection. Attempts to dub two hugely popular TV serials—Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana (1986) and Sanjay Khan's Tipu Sultan (1990) were stymied by the Okkutta, and now it wants the Taare... experminent stalled as well.

Ashok, president of the Okkutta, said the film could be re-made in Kannada if the government was keen on showing it. "We could have an actor like Upendra play Aamir's (lead) role. If the film is re-made in Kannada, it will have a local feel, and children in government schools will be better able to identify with it."

Supporting his stand, filmmaker Chaitanya K said, "We have a policy that states movies can't be dubbed in Kannada. This is because our film industry is small and growing. If permission is given for Taare... for educational purposes, other films too will be dubbed for various purposes. We can't allow dubbing of one film and disallow that of others. That will be unfair. These are, besides, only strategies used for marketing of Hindi films."

Filmmaker Nagathihalli Chandrashekar, however, had a different opinion. "Taare is a brilliant film that depicts an issue with universal appeal. Children will benefit from viewing the film. We should be able to make exceptions for such films."

Author Shashi Deshpande said protectionist measures could deprive audiences of good films, and while the regular commercial film could be prevented from being dubbed, there was a need here to make an exception.

State Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan director S Selvakumar said he was aware of the opposition from Kannada film workers and had sought intervention of the information department to work out alternatives to dubbing, so that the government could go ahead with its plan.

Jalaja Ramanunni/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication