17th BIFFes 2026
Jan 29th - 06th Feb 2026
"Woman: Shared Sensibilities, A Collective Voice for Equality"
KOORMAVATARA
THE TORTOISE - AN INCARNATION
Anand Rao, a retiring government clerk in Karnataka, lives a quiet, unremarkable life until his striking resemblance to Mahatma Gandhi lands him a role in a television serial about the leader. As the show becomes popular, Rao enjoys sudden fame, money, and public admiration. But playing Gandhi forces him to confront the gap between merely imitating ideals and truly living them. The attention strains his family life and inner peace, pushing him to question authenticity, morality, and what it really means to embody the values he portrays on screen.
ಆನಂದ ರಾವ್ ಎಂಬ ನಿವೃತ್ತ ಹೊಂದುತ್ತಿರುವ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಒಬ್ಬ ಸರಕಾರಿ ನೌಕರನು ಶಾಂತ, ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜೀವನ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅದು- ಮಹಾತ್ಮಾ ಗಾಂಧಿಯವರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಅವನ ಚಹರೆಯ ಗಮನಾರ್ಹ ಹೋಲಿಕೆಯು ಆತನಿಗೆ ಅವರ ಕುರಿತ ಒಂದು ಟಿವಿ ಧಾರಾವಾಹಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾತ್ರ ವಹಿಸುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುವ ತನಕ ಮಾತ್ರ. ನಂತರ, ಧಾರವಾಹಿಯು ಜನಪ್ರಿಯವಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವಂತೆಯೇ ರಾವ್ ಖ್ಯಾತಿ, ಹಣ, ಜನರ ಮೆಚ್ಚುಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಅನುಭವಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಆದರೆ, ಗಾಂಧೀಜಿಯ ಪಾತ್ರ ವಹಿಸುವುದು- ಕೇವಲ ಆದರ್ಶಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುಕರಿಸುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಆ ಆದರ್ಶಗಳನ್ನು ನಿಜವಾಗಿಯೂ ಅನುಸರಿಸುವುದರ ನಡುವಿನ ಅಂತರವನ್ನು ಎದುರಿಸುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಗಮನವು ಆತನ ಕೌಟುಂಬಿಕ ಜೀವನ ಮತ್ತು ಆಂತರಿಕ ಶಾಂತಿಯನ್ನು ಕದಡುತ್ತದೆ; ಸಾಚಾತನ, ನೈತಿಕತೆ ಮತ್ತು ತಾನು ಪರದೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸುವ ಮೌಲ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವುದರ ನಿಜವಾದ ಅರ್ಥ ಏನು ಎಂದು ಅತ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ
Producer(s) or Production Company:
Basanthkumar Patil
Screenplay:
Girish Kasaravalli, Kum. Veerabhadrappa
Director of Photography:
G.S.Bhaskar
Editor :
M N Swamy
Music :
Isaac Thomas Kottakappally
Girish Kasaravalli (b.1950, Kesalur). A graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), he began his career as an assistant to B.V. Karanth. To measure Girish Kasaravalli’s cinematic journey is not merely to count decades, but to map the depths of the human conscience. A filmmaker who understands that the most profound truths are often found in the whispers between words, and the shadows between lights. He peels back the layers of socio-religious orthodoxy, bureaucratic absurdity, and the encroaching chaos of modernity to reveal the fragile, beating heart of the individual underneath. From his highly significant debut, GHATASHRADDHA (1977), to the atmospheric brilliance of DWEEPA (2002), Whether exploring the crushing weight of bureaucracy in TABARANA KATHE (1987) or the changing tides of social history in THAAYI SAHEBA (1997). Kasaravalli forces the audience to confront uncomfortable truths about caste, gender, and tradition. His work has been defined by refusal to sensationalize. Instead, he employs an anthropologist’s eye and a poet’s heart to dissect the human condition. A recipient of the Padma Shri and the Puttanna Kanagal Award, he is celebrated internationally for his philosophical and visually evocative storytelling.