Kere Bete: Gowrishankar to lead film on popular fishing event in Karnataka

Kere Bete, a popular fishing event seen in the Malenadu region of Karnataka, is all set to be the backdrop of a new Kannada film. With the eponymous title, the film has been described as a rustic village drama that has Gowrishankar SRG playing the lead role and Rajguru B directing it. The maiden motion poster of 'Kere Bete' is slated to release on October 27th.

"The fishing tradition is the soul of 'Kere Bete' (which literally translates to 'pond hunt' and we have drawn a lot of inspiration from the real-life that one gets to see in the Malenadu region. Not many know that Kere Bete is often witnessed in the summer season when the water in the ponds isn't as deep as in the monsoons and this is when the locals step out to try their luck at fishing. Some of them end up trapping in huge quantities while others aren't as fortunate but the fascinating aspect is that Kere Bete is not a means to make money. It is still treated as a tradition, as a fun event. The film, in essence, is about the everyday life around this event and we get to see an unnamed village, its inhabitants, the culture and all the vibrancy. That said, 'Kere Bete' is still a 'mass' film," says leading man Gowrishankar.

The film, he adds, was shot over a period of 65 days and is currently in post-production, with about 7 days of patchwork expected to be carried out in November 2023. The makers plan to reveal more about the cast and crew through the motion poster. 

"There are close to 70 actors as part of the cast. You will get to see new faces, local talent and even known faces," he says. 

Gowrishankar SRG, of course, was last seen as the lead in Jadesh Kumar Hampi's 2017 film Rajahamsa, which also starred Ranjani Raghavan, Bullet Prakash, Tabla Nani, Yamuna, Raju Talikote and others. 

'Kere Bete' has been produced by Jaishankar Patel, a lawyer and agriculturist who is known to be extremely passionate about cinema.