BENGALURU: Puneeth B A, known as the 'Poster Boy' in social-media circles for his Kannada Minimal Posters, recently opened his production house 'Poster Boy Art Studios'. Through this, he hopes to try new formats that have not yet been done in the Kannada film industry. His first such attempt will be the ‘The Kathe Project - Mareyalaagadha Kathegala Meravanighe' a web series on social media.
Puneeth B A explains: “It is to relive the joy of telling, sharing and listening to stories in the evenings. Families used to have this routine every evening or at family get-togethers in the pre-smartphone era. Sadly, with social-media addiction, people are losing out on such warm, personal experiences. Kathe Project will help people bring their childhood memories and interesting tales to the same place they're addicted to... the social media.”
This will be a month-long programme, with stories uploaded every evening from a mix of narrators both celebrities and non-celebrities. “Prakash Rai will open the series on April 12 at 7.45 pm,” says Puneeth. “His story will surprise us... The narrators will be chosen from different fields and they won't be restricted to on-screen celebrities. There will be writers, journalists, filmmakers, film technicians, theatre people and singers too.”
Prakash Rai says, “Puneeth B A caught my attention with the miniature designs he made for Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu.”
“Telling stories is such a beautiful thing. You don't have to be a great writer, only need to have a story to tell... Storytelling is so organic, many characters and angles come out with each telling.” The actor promises more stories through Kathe Project.
Other possible narrators include Vijay Raghavendra, Sunil Rao and RJ Nethra.
Even regular people can upload stories on the Kathe campaign. “All it needs is the same smartphone you clicked your selfie with an hour ago,” says Puneeth. “Sit in a nice place to narrate a story and hold the camera steady. Make the videos as interesting as possible. Bring your distant relatives to help you tell a story or go ask someone on the road to say their story, ask your parents, grandparents, children or your siblings for stories and shoot a video. You can share funny or not-so-funny stories from your past... Upload with the hashtag #thekatheproject and do participate once the campaign starts.”
You can follow the project on the FB page thekatheproject for more details.