The burning and very current topic of radicalization of Indian youth is the core subject of Harshad Nalawade’s “Follower.”
The film has its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Focus: The Shape of Things to Come? strand that asks if the institutional success of what used to be right-wing Hindu nationalist groups but are now mainstream, and the persecution of dissenting voices, is a sign of the shape of things to come.
The project was a work-in-progress lab selection at South Asia’s top film market, Film Bazaar, in 2021, and participated in the Film Bazaar Goes to Cannes initiative at the Marche du Film in 2022.
The film follows Raghavendra, a young man with a technical degree who unwillingly works in the family gift shop. A few incidents draw him toward a charismatic Hindu leader and he becomes a meagrely paid keyboard warrior for a radical online outlet.
Nalawade, for whom “Follower” marks his feature debut after several shorts, grew up in the southern Indian city of Belgaum.
“Post 2014 in India, when a right-wing government came into power with a huge majority, I saw many of my friends and people I know become too passionate about their politics. Since then, their strong beliefs in one particular leader to get us out of misery was very interesting to notice. I was interested in what makes people believe in something or someone so strongly. But instead of getting into telling a story of the national politics, I wanted to tell a local story. And my hometown was the best setting to tell a story about people’s beliefs,” Nalawade told Variety.
Belgaum is located in the Kannada language-speaking state of Karnataka. The bordering state of Marathi language-speaking Maharashtra claims Belgaum belongs to them on linguistic grounds. The decades-old border dispute remains a political flash point with massive protests taking place periodically, the most recent one being in December 2022.
The film follows Raghavendra, a young man with a technical degree who unwillingly works in the family gift shop. A few incidents draw him toward a charismatic Hindu leader and he becomes a meagrely paid keyboard warrior for a radical online outlet.
Nalawade, for whom “Follower” marks his feature debut after several shorts, grew up in the southern Indian city of Belgaum.
“Post 2014 in India, when a right-wing government came into power with a huge majority, I saw many of my friends and people I know become too passionate about their politics. Since then, their strong beliefs in one particular leader to get us out of misery was very interesting to notice. I was interested in what makes people believe in something or someone so strongly. But instead of getting into telling a story of the national politics, I wanted to tell a local story. And my hometown was the best setting to tell a story about people’s beliefs,” says Nalawade.
Belgaum is located in the Kannada language-speaking state of Karnataka. The bordering state of Marathi language-speaking Maharashtra claims Belgaum belongs to them on linguistic grounds. The decades-old border dispute remains a political flash point with massive protests taking place periodically, the most recent one being in December 2022.
“Follower” was initially crowdfunded. Production company HumaraMovie saw the rough cut and boarded the project and helped finish it.
Nalawade hopes to release the film in India, including in Maharashtra and Karnataka. “On the surface, it might look like a film that sheds light on the Marathi life in Belgaum. And the Kannadigas might hate the film for doing so. But the irony is that maybe the Marathis are going to hate the film more when they watch it,” Nalawade said.
Meanwhile, the film is set for its Rotterdam premiere on Jan. 29, with Nalawade present in person. “We are all thrilled to have a world premiere at IFFR – it’s a big deal for us and we are excited to share our special film with audiences. It will certainly help us a lot in terms of creating more awareness about the film on an international scale too,” Nalawade said.
