Puneeth Amarnath on ‘Total Khanna Da!’: ‘A message of love, acceptance and respect from a Kannadiga’s perspective’

Puneeth Amarnath, director and writer of the seven-minute film, Total Khanna Da! says the film is a non-confrontationist view of the language debate 

Total Khanna Da!, a seven-minute film in Kannada, has gone viral since it dropped online in October 2024. Puneeth Amarnath wrote and directed the film for his YouTube channel, Ideeria.

Puneeth is known for his ‘Uncle’ and ‘Manager’ series on YouTube. The founder of Ideeria, which is a digital arm of his firm, Poster Boy Art Studios, Puneeth has acted in Kannada films including KM Chaitanya’s Aadarinda,  Srikanth Kenchappa’s Narayana Narayana, the medical thriller, O2, directed by Raghav Nayak and Prashanth Raj, and Akash Srivatsa’s Shivaji Surathkal 2.

Total Khanna Da!, Puneeth says, was made as a response to Kannadigas being trolled for being chauvinists. Puneeth used this accusation as a backdrop for Total Khanna Da!, which is a peaceful message of love, acceptance and respect from a Kannadiga’s perspective.

The film stars Puneeth with Sanjana Burli (she starred in the serial, Puttakkana Makkalu ) and theatre actor Soundarya Nagaraj. Edited by Akshay P Rao (Sidlingu), with music by Aparajith Sris (Gantumoote) Total Khanna Da! is produced by Puneeth, Hariprasad and SJ Nitil Krishna for Ideeria in association with Trivarga Productions and Trikon Films.

“Over the past few years, the narrative about Kannada and Kannadigas, especially in Bengaluru, has been extremely negative. Kannadigas, who are generally known to be large hearted, hospitable and accommodating, are now accused of being rigid. We are also made to feel guilty when we want to access information or services in Kannada.”

Artistes, Puneeth said, took the peaceful route to express themselves using theatre, art and music. “Total Khanna Da! says we can be accommodative of other cultures while retaining our nativity, language and cuisine. There is no need to give up on one’s own roots, culture or language to accommodate others.”

Punning on the word Kannada in the title, Puneeth says, “Kanna means ‘to steal’ and the title aims to say Kannada as a language can steal anyone’s heart.”