Vaghachipani (Tiger’s Pond) is the first Kannada movie to screen (Premier) at the Berlin Film Festival on February 15, 16, 20 & 21, 2025. It is a dark comedy drama, says Variety. This film directed by Nitesh Hegde is supported by Anurag Kashyap.
The idyllic landscape of Vaghachipani conceals a fallen world under the sway of the tiger god. The secular lord of this domain, however, is Prabhu, a ruthless businessman trying to win a local election with the help of his faithful right-hand man, an immigrant known as Malabari. When Basu, a politically savvy, outcast worker, stands up to their intimidation tactics and ill-earned authority, the strict hierarchy and the feudal order of Prabhu’s dominion threatens to come undone. Deepening the inquiry of his acclaimed debut feature Pedro (2021), Natesh Hegde offers a sharp, simmering crime drama exploring the nefarious confluence of faith, caste and political power in Southern India. Set in a hermetic village ruled by fear and tradition, Hegde’s film is a game of tigers and cows, a tale of structured oppression and spontaneous resistance around the figure of the mute maid, Pathi. The spectral camera drifts through this netherworld, registering its rocky terrain, its murky goings-on and its unforgettable faces in rapturous 16mm images. As it unmasks the brutality beneath the serene beauty of the village, the still waters of Tiger’s Pond begin to reveal their treacherous depths.
- By Natesh Hegde (Director, Screenplay)
- with Dileesh Pothan, Achyut Kumar, Natesh, Gopal Hegde, Sumitra
- 87′
- India, Singapore 2025
- Colour
- Kannada, Malayalam
- Subtitles: English
Natesh Hegde, Director
Director and scriptwriter Natesh Hegde was born and brought up in Yellapura in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India. He completed a master’s in journalism at the Karnataka University Dharwad. Pedro (2021), his debut feature film, was part of the NFDC Film Bazaar’s Work-in-Progress Lab in 2019 and had its world premiere in the Busan New Currents Competition in 2021. It won the Roberto Rossellini award for Best Director at the 5th Pingyao International Film Festival and the Montgolfiere d’Argent at the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes. His short stories have been published in major Kannada-language magazines.
Filmography
- 2021Pedro
- 2025Vaghachipani(Tiger’s Pond)
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