Sirsi youth’s short film on COVID-19 misinformation goes viral

Team Udayavani, Jul 27, 2020, 12:12 PM IST

Sirsi: A short film on the misinformation about COVID-19 pandemic that has now spread to many rural parts of Karnataka causing much distress to residents there has gained a lot of attention on the Internet.

The 9-minute short film in the Kannada language is made by Prasad Hegde from Jadimane near Onikere in Sirsi taluk and in only one week has been viewed by more than 4,000 times on YouTube. the more than 10 performers in the movie are all local residents of Jadimane.

The short film depicts and addresses the misinformation that is being spread through false news platforms on television and the Internet. The situation has worsened after COVID-19 cases were reported in villages where these false information has sometimes caused panic.

Prasad, studying mechanical engineering at Mysuru, had been at home from the past 4 months due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown. As most of the villagers were free after during the monsoon the idea for the film came up.

The film was recorded and edited in less than 7 days with Prasad’s brother Uttam helping with the videography.

The short film can be watched on YouTube.

Prasad has this to say about his short film: “The short film intends to preach that people must double-check any news regarding COVID-19. Wrong information about the pandemic causes a lot of disturbances and difficulties. I made the film as due to network problems I could not attend my online engineering classes.”