Kannada film ‘Peotu’ attempts to explore alcohol addiction through new lens

Do you cognize what the connection ‘Peotu’ means? I didn’t, until I watched this lesser-known Kannada film, which precocious released successful theatres. For those who are unfamiliar, it’s a slang word meaning ‘drunkard’ successful Kannada.

Directed by Karthik Rajan, an autarkic filmmaker based retired of Bengaluru, Peotu explores a man’s arc arsenic helium battles alcoholism.

Produced by Grace Film Company, the communicative follows the affectional travel of Peter Patrick (played by Likith M.N.), a antheral devastated by his wife’s abrupt departure, forcing him to question solace successful drinking.

Peter, a bundle engineer, returns location 1 time to find his wife, Reeta (Ashwini Chavare), missing. He finds a enactment saying she has near him for different man. Shocked by her desertion, Peter resorts to drinking to flooded his grief. Eventually, Peter, who becomes ‘Peotu’ Peter, lives a beingness of loneliness, regret, and intoxicant abuse.

Speaking to The Hindu astir his debut diagnostic directorial, Karthik says the movie is simply a poignant communicative of redemption, self-acceptance, and the achy travel towards healing.

Karthik, who began his vocation directing abbreviated films, wanted to research alcoholism and the stigma attached to the contented done a performance-centric lens. Karthik says the movie bats for empathy and humanity by portraying addiction without judgment.

“I person seen galore alcoholics successful my life, and I person seen galore radical who respond precise negatively to this issue. I judge immoderate benignant of dysfunctionality exists successful everyone, and we request to judge it. Addiction is simply a precise large term, and we request to look astatine it sensitively,” helium says.

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He continues, “I person tried to seizure the character’s affectional scenery from isolation and despair to moments of clarity and anticipation precise realistically. Through this film, I privation to promote audiences to presumption addiction with a compassionate lens.

Peotu saw a theatrical merchandise alongside Devil. Asked if that affected the film’s success, Karthik says, much than Devil, Akhanda 2, and Durandhar posed a situation to Peotu. “We had planned the film’s merchandise with Devil, due to the fact that determination were nary different films releasing connected that day. But with Akhanda’s unexpected merchandise connected December 12 and Durandhar’s monolithic success, galore screens showing Peotu were affected. We anticipation to scope much radical done OTT aft we get a merchandise date,” helium says.

With a tighter screenplay and a shorter runtime (the movie is 147 minutes) Peotu would person been much impactful, I say. He concurs. “The effect has not been bad. I’ll instrumentality feedback successful bully spirits and amended my work. Shooting combat scenes astatine existent locations was challenging, particularly with a constricted budget. I privation to marque hard films. I cognize the travel is not easy, but it volition beryllium worthy it.”