KADAPA: A team of youngsters in Kadapa have taken it upon themselves to educate people about Covid-19 and CAB using short films. These short films, shot by one U Hema Reddy and his friends, have been uploaded on YouTube and have received lakhs of views. Observing that not adhering to Covid-19 norms by people has worsened the situation during the Covid-19 second wave, Hema Reddy decided to create awareness among people and chose short films as a medium.
Attracted to films from a young age, he discontinued studies in Class 10 and wanted to pursue his dreams. In 2014, he took training from SV Siva Reddy, a noted film director. Since then he has been making short films on varied subjects. Taking note of the Covid-19 situation in the State, Hema Reddy started shooting short films on how Covid-19 norms and other restrictions imposed from time to time benefit people in the long run.
He took some valuable tips from district SP KKN Anburajan before shooting the short films. Out of the 20 films shot by Hema Reddy and his team till date, eight are on Covid-19 and Covid-19 norms. He roped in local artistes for his short films and uploaded them on YouTube and in short time, they became popular.
‘Praja Rakshane Ma Badhyatha’ a short film made on the efforts of police personnel to protect people from Covid-19 has received 30 lakh views. Another short film,’ Agu Yama Agu Yama’, made last year during corona outbreak, received 1.9 crore views. In fact, they were also dubbed into Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Marathi languages and telecast on the local TV channels.
Other short films—Covid-19 Police About Struggles—received 60 lakh views, “Covid-19 police” gained 30 lakh views. “Nenu Tappu Chesanu-2” shot in 2021 was released by actor Adhi. It showed how a youth went about flouting Covid-19 norms and how his folly made his family members positive for the virus. In five days, the short film got 10 lakh views. Hema Reddy said his short film “Prajala Rakshane Ma Badyatha’ explains how police serve the society during the pandemic, while keeping themselves away from their families. He said it became a trendsetter in social media and helped create public awareness.
Earlier, he had shot short films with help from the police department on different films such as “Locked House Monitoring”, “Road Safety”, “Matka”, “Cricket Betting”, “Student suicides” and “Cybercrimes”. Impressed by his work, the police departments in Kurnool and Guntur engaged him for shooting short films in their respective districts for creating social awareness on various issues. “I am happy that short films shot by me and my friends are helping to bring about a change in the people. I am thankful to the Kadapa SP and others for their encouragement and support,” he said.
WORKING WITH A PASSION
Attracted to films from a young age, Hema Reddy discontinued studies in Class 10 and wanted to pursue his dreams. In 2014, he took training from SV Siva Reddy, a noted film director. Since then he has been making short films on varied subjects