Some of us fondly remember the bell bottoms — those flared trousers worn in the 70s and 80s — and with it, perhaps memories of that time as well.
Kannada director Jayatheertha takes viewers on a nostalgic trip with his comic thriller titled ‘Bell Bottom.’
Set in the 80s, this story written by Dayanand TK is about police constable Diwakara who has the mind of a detective. We learn Diwakara never wanted to join the police force but has been forced into this career by his father, a policeman wanting his son to follow in his footsteps. Diwakar grew up reading detective stories. And his ambition was to become a detective.
When Diwakar impresses his senior officer by solving a case at work, he is assigned another case. However this is not a straight one.
It involved jewellery recovered from cases the police have investigated into and kept in their custody at the police station, said Jayatheertha. “Strangely someone was stealing the jewellery right under the nose of the policemen, causing the force much embarrassment.”
‘Bell Bottom’ follows Diwakara as he secretly investigates the case. With Rishab Shetty- an accomplished director cum actor- playing Diwakara, viewers can look forward to an entertainer that has been endorsed by the response to the film following its release in India last month. Interestingly before its release the Tamil remake rights of ‘Bell Bottom’ was sold.
Haripriya is paired opposite Shetty. She plays Kusuma who sells arrack (local liquor).
The supporting cast includes Achyut Kumar as well as directors Yograj Bhat and Sivamani.
Location scouting was the major hurdle for Jayatheertha. “The story is such that it had to be placed in the eighties and cannot be told in today’s times. So we had to find a place that does not have any trace of today’s technology.”
Finally the team arrived at Joga, located in the neighbourhood of Jog Falls (Karnataka) where a colony was developed in the seventies by the government for workers of the power station there.
“It remains unchanged even today, shared Jayatheertha, “and with few residents there, ‘Bell Bottom’ was filmed without any hitches.”
Jayatheertha, a noted playwright with several plays and writings to his credit, assures that his film is a complete entertainer. “People are loving different aspects of the film-be it the retro look and costumes, its various characters as well as the music that includes Karnataka folk songs,” he said.
B Ajaneesh Loknath is the music composer. Aravind Kashyap is the DOP.
‘Bell Bottom’, produced by Santosh Kumar KC, releases in the UAE on March 7.
