A Kannada film on juvenile crime

That this is the first Kannada film to have been considered for Oscar nominations through lateral entry is reason enough to get one curious about what’s in there. The film, Care of Footpath 2, produced by Kiran Movie Makers Inc, is being released in Kannada, Hindi and Telugu, and marks its India release today. The film’s 19-year-old director Kishan Srikanth tells us what makes this a must-watch this week.
“The film belongs to a very new genre in Indian cinema. Juvenile crime is an ongoing issue in our country. So, a film based on juveniles committing crime is bound to be interesting. I find that there are two ways that people look at juveniles who commit crimes. One, where they feel these children need to and can be reformed, so that there are no offences in the future. The others believe that if a juvenile can commit a crime that only adults are capable of, then he/she must be punished accordingly and not be given special treatment just because he or she is underage. There is this ongoing debate about even decreasing the age of juveniles in such cases from the current 18 years to 16 years,” explains Kishan.
However, what this film highlights is the possibility of a situation in which juveniles are forced to commit a crime. “The way we treat these people could ensure that they grow up to be nothing more than criminals in the future,” says Kishan, who adds, “Unlike my first film, Care of Footpath, this one is an action-packed commercial film.” The story, an emotional suspense thriller, has won a lot of appreciation at the week’s screening at a theatre in Los Angeles recently. Audiences walking out of the theatre have gone on record to express their astonishment at what they had witnessed for a variety of reasons that include its topic, storyline and screenplay, and the fact that it has been directed by a boy who is just 19.
An elaborate star cast that includes Avika Gor, Esha Deol, J Karthik, Shravanti Sainath, Deep Patak, Dingri Naresh and Bollywood director Anees Bazmee, in addition to Kishan, has been ably supported by producers Shrikanth HR, Devaraj Pande and CR Srinivas.