Social Media Campaign to Dub Malgudi Days in Kannada, But Industry Divided

Bengaluru: Members of a Kannada organisation have demanded the classic soap-opera ‘Malgudi Days’ be dubbed in Kannada. The activists took to social media with the hashtag #MalgudiDaysInKannada and it soon became a state-wide trend.

Malgudi Days, which is based on RK Narayanan’s novel, was directed by Shankar Nag in Hindi and English. It was telecast on Doordarshan in late 1980s.

It was dubbed in Telugu, Marathi, Bengali and a few other languages. However, Kannada industry has been against dubbing. Although dubbing isn’t banned in Karnataka, the Karnataka Film Chamber and Producers Association does not allow it.

Now, Banawasi Balaga, a pro-Kannada organisation is demanding that an exception be made for Malgudi Days. The social media campaign has received support from Shankar Nag’s fans and Kannadigas.

Many suggest that Kannada film industry should not go against the move as the classic was directed by a Kannada talent Shankar Nag and many actors in the drama were Kannadigas.

Speaking to News 18, Arun Javgal, a member of Banavasi Balaga, said, “Why do we need to watch our man Shankar Nag’s serial in other languages? We want to watch the series in our mother tongue and each Kannadiga deserves to watch Malgudi Days in Kannada. We request Kannada film industry to support our campaign.”

Speaking about the earlier failures in dubbing, he added “If the industry supports dubbing, it will help in producing quality movies. Dubbing artists are scared of the industry and they are not taking part in other languages to Kannada dubbing. In return, ad agency dubbing artists were given the job leading to disaster.”

However, Malgudi Days’ associate director Ramesh Bhat is against the dubbing.

Speaking to News18, Ramesh Bhat said, “Malgudi Days should not be dubbed to Kannada. We are following the principle of making original movies in Kannada. We are always against dubbing. If Malgudi Days is dubbed, it will break the tradition of our industry. If any enthusiasts come further, we can reproduce the series in Kannada.”