PremiumChilli Chicken release: Kannada film on north-east community sets date with audience
Directed by debutant Prateek Prajosh, Chilli Chicken stars BV Shrunga, Bijou Thaangjam, among others.
Last Updated: 08.09 PM, Jun 11, 2024
Chilli Chicken, according to Kannada filmmaker Prateek Prajosh, is not only a popular Indo-Chinese dish; it is also a degrading racial slur for people belonging to the North-East community. This forms the crux of his film, Chilli Chicken, which revolves around the staff from the north-east, at a Chinese restaurant in Bengaluru. The debutant filmmaker shines the spotlight on the city’s unfair treatment of people from that belt, who are branded outsiders in their country.
Prateek has just released the trailer of the film, which will be in theatres on June 21, wherein he has provided a glimpse into the trials and tribulations that the migrant workforce of a restaurant face. Chilli Chicken stars BV Shrunga, Bijou Thaangjam, Jimpa Sangpo Bhutia, Harini Sundararajan, Victor Thoudam, Nityashree, Padmaja Rao, Hirock Sonowal, Tomthin Thokchom , among others.
Speaking to OTTplay earlier, Prateek had spoken about how his own struggles as a former gulf-kid Malayali in Bengaluru helped him relate to the issues faced by people from the north east. A dark comedy with a social commentary, Chilli Chicken, he had said, was based on a real-incident at a friend’s restaurant in Frazer Town, which Prateek developed into his script.
Speaking at the trailer launch, Shrunga, who was last seen in 19.20.21, said that when he was approached for Chilli Chicken, it struck him immediately that this was a story that had to be told. “It is a very important story, but what will also appeal to audiences is the dark humour in the narrative. I play Adarsh, a young restaurateur, who sets up a Chinese restaurant with great difficulty, and explores the challenges he faces therewith,” says the actor.
Prateek adds that his attempt has been to tell a hard-hitting story without ever being preachy.