more-in From tracing the life of a young, mute boy in the Himalayas to a sightly older man, also mute, in the hills in another part of the country - Kodagu, BIFFes promises to showcase Indian cinema beyond the realms of the well-known. Sharing screen space with riveting cinema from across the world are films from lesser-known languages in India. The film festival’s ‘Unsung Incredible India’ section, in its second year, will put the spotlight on cinema in languages such as Konkani, Kurmali, Nepali, Tulu, Pahari and Kodava. Makers of such films have their reasons for taking the plunge. For Miransha Naik, director and producer of Konkani film Juze — the story of an abusive ‘slum landlord’, some things can only be said in regional languages. "I first wrote the script in English, then a draft in Hindi, but realised that what I wanted to say was not coming through in these languages. Some dialogues could only be delivered in Konkani. So I took the risk of making the film in the language," said Mr. Naik, who is working on his second Konkani film. "People who want to watch a good movie will do so. The language does not matter. Moreover, we have subtitles to help reach out to more audiences. My film released in France with French subtitles and was well received," he said. Actor, director, producer Harish Raj was looking to do something different for his fourth directorial venture. He decided to make a non-Kannada film and chose to make one in the Kodava language. Mooga, which depicts the struggles of a speech and hearing impaired orphan, is set in Virajpet in Kodagu, and has a predominantly Kodava cast. The decision to make the film in a lesser-known language will not affect the film’s reach, he said. “It is like an author publishes a book not keeping in mind a target audience. Other language films are doing well after being screened with sub-titles. A lot of films are being made in Tulu. Kodava language itself needs to be recognised more. The story would have gotten lost in the 200-odd Kannada films that release every year. Film festivals offer a great platform to bring recognition to such films, and money follows recognition,” said Mr. Raj. Mr. Naik said smaller regional language films are still on the side-stage. "We cannot get to release movies in the big screens easily. This is where film festivals come into play. These festivals look for good content and give us an opportunity to widen our audience base."

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