Film about Kannada-Marathi border row and friendship

'Follower’, the debut feature film of Harshad Nalawade which premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam earlier this year, is a Kannada-Marathi film set in the disputed district of Belagavi. The film is currently being showcased at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival where it opened to critical acclaim.

‘Follower’ delves into the life of the protagonist, a radicalised youth who works passionately for a Marathi political leader in Belagavi and the events that prompt him to do so. 

Belagavi (called Belgaum earlier) is the cause for the decades-long boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra. Politicians from Maharashtra citing the large Marathi-speaking population in the district, believe it should be part of their state. Raghu is a Marathi speaker living in the city of Belagavi. He faces certain challenges in his personal and professional life. The film deals with the issue of feeling alienated in one’s own surroundings, amidst language politics. 

Raghu works for the political IT cell of a Marathi leader — he posts videos and doctored narratives about the mistreatment of Marathi-speakers in the district. He refuses to take his payment home. “I don’t do this for money,” he says.

The idea was not to talk about bigotry or fake news and misinformation, says Harshad Nalwade in a conversation with Showtime. “We forget about the lives of people doing this, somebody like Raghu — where he comes from, what he does and why,’ he says.

‘Follower’ focuses on the relationship between three friends and how one of them falls out with the other two because of ideological differences. “This is a love letter to my friend,” says Harshad. “Post 2014, things have become more polarised in the country which has created a rift among family members and friends.” Harshad’s need to understand why some of his friends latched on to certain causes led to him making the film. Hailing from Belagavi, he wanted to understand why the Marathi speakers were in favour of joining Maharashtra. In the film, Harshad plays the role of Sachin, an idealistic social media influencer. He asks the Marathi speakers if they are sure that all their problems will be solved if Belgaum is made a part of Maharashtra. 

The film tries to bring to light how people’s insecurities are misused by leaders and hate mongers for political benefit. The narrative digs deep to bring out why people at their weakest moments hold on to anything that provides them comfort. The film, set in a small city, tackles issues that are common across the country. 

Harshad has also made the short films, ‘A Return Gift’ and ‘Bubbles’. ‘A Return Gift’ is about a man who visits his dead best friend’s mother and how the two cope with their loss. ‘Bubbles’ is an experimental film based on the question “do we have free will or is it destiny?” through the idea of parallel universes. 

‘Follower’ won the best screenplay award at the New York Indian Film Festival. It will also be screened at the Dharamshala and Kerala international festivals this year. The film will be screened at the 43rd edition of Noordelijk Film Festival, Netherlands in an interesting category that discusses minority languages and the identity crisis around it. 

The team hopes for a theatrical release soon.