'Radio Petti' Goes To Busan Film Festival

Made with new actors in 15 days within a modest budget of Rs 1 crore, the film by director Hari Vishwanath showcases the changing world through the eyes of a senior citizen

CHENNAI:An 83-minute feature film — Radio Petti – depicting a retired and partially deaf senior citizen’s attachment to his vintage radio set and the gender gap-related friction it leads to with his ‘modern’ son is one of the contenders at the Busan International Film Festival, South Korea, (October 1-10) this year.

Set in Puducherry, Radio Petti is a contemporary take on how senior citizens have been unable to cope with the fast-paced world of today, leading to their increased marginalisation and loneliness in their lives.

The film’s director, Hari Vishwanath, said, “The film employs the radio set as a metaphor, which was once a binding force for the entire family. But in today’s individualistic world, it has lost out to personalised technology like portable music systems. It’s a lot like the lives of the elderly in today’s modern world — disconnected.”

Hari came up with this idea when he saw a partially deaf and probably mentally-ill old man walking on the road. “Nobody noticed him and he seemed to be extremely lonely. It set me thinking about the lives of old people and I worked on the script with my friends,” he said. “Some of my grandfather’s belongings have been used in the film to lend authenticity.”

Shot in 15 days on a budget of less than Rs 1 crore in November 2014, all actors in the film are new to the industry but have been performing in stage plays for many years. Music has been composed by a British composer Richard Ford.

“Technicians, who have worked on Bahubali, and also a Hindi film, Brothers, have worked on this extensively,” beamed Hari, who along with his crew will leave to South Korea on October 2.

Hari says he has also sent the film to numerous other festivals being held in Tokyo, Singapore and Mumbai. He is likely to have a preview screening of the film in Chennai post the premiere.

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The New Indian Express
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