HUBBALLI:When one thinks of locations that are needed for filming movies or shooting advertisements at Tibetan settlements, mostly the producers look for settlements which are nestled in the snowy mountains and hills of north India.But, a creative multimedia team from Hubballi has used the Tibetan settlement in Mundgod, for the first time, to shoot an advertisement of helmets produced by a company from Belagavi. The one minute ad has been shot at Mundgod featuring young Tibetan lamas.
Located about 50 km from Hubballi city, the Mundgod Tibetan settlement is known as ‘Doeguling’ settlement. The settlement has 16,000 population of Tibetan refugees and has two higher study centres of Buddhism. Senior lamas from across the world visit here annually, but yet the settlement in Mundgod is little known to the world. While in Karnataka, the Tibetan settlement in Bylakuppe in Kodagu district hogs most of the attention, Mundgod is often ignored. The ad is also an effort to popularise the little known Tibetan settlement.
“When we got the ad contract, we were thinking about locations. We were sure about one thing that we wanted to shoot the ad in north Karnataka itself,” said Arun Chikkop, the creative head of Girmit Films, Hubballi.“Hubballi is located in the centre of many heritage destinations like Hampi and the beaches and the waterfalls of Uttara Kannada district. Finally, we zeroed in on Mundgod. We decided to tell the story of a new helmet through the young lamas instead of using the stunt riders to tell about the headgear. As the brand is international, the Tibetan kids suited the best,” explained Arun Chikkop. The other two core team members — Manmath Shetty and Vivitt Walve — have also worked on the project.
When the ad team from Hubballi, which approached the Tibetan administration at Mundgod, the Tibetan members were pleased to allow the team for a shoot.According to members of the community in Mundgod, efforts like making ads, shooting films and organising sports events hold the community members together, especially the young generation.“Many Tibetans are leaving the settlements in search of jobs and money. This is not good for the cause of Tibet. We must hold our young generation together, so that the fight will continue. Efforts like shooting ads and bringing in more tourists will help children stay in the settlement itself,” said a senior Tibetan official from Mundgod.