Vinayak Joshi crossing borders with Kannada

Kannada is all set to go global, and taking the language and its rich musical heritage into the big league is RJ and actor Vinayak Joshi. Tuneothsava, a large scale musical initiative that Vinayak will play host to in Bangalore, will see local and international musicians play out Kannada songs. “Kannada songs across genres will be sung in different styles. For instance, hit film number Anisutide yako indu... will be sung in Hindustani fashion.

Poems written by the likes of DV Gundappa and TP Kailasam will also find a place in the festival. I am trying to get artistes to sing our songs in various styles — be it rock, pop or reggae,” explains Vinayak. The festival will also see the coming together of various musical instruments. “A bagpipe and flute jugalbandi is a possibility that we are considering,” he says.

The festival is also looking at popularising certain unfamiliar Kannada words by inserting them in the songs that will be featured. “Tuneothsava is not just about the coming together of artistes but also about bridging the gap between today’s youth and Kannada. It is an attempt to show that Kannada has class and it’s just that not many have explored its rich heritage,” adds Vinayak. Over 30 musicians, including our very own Pallavi Arun, Harsha, Praveen D Rao and Vasu Dixit are likely to perform. Talks are on with Mumbai and Germany-based artistes as well. “By making foreign musicians croon and play Kannada songs, I wish to introduce them to our culture and language,” says Vinayak.
Tuneothsava, which will be held in April, will also announce the restart of his father’s company, Joshi Chitra. The firm will dedicate itself to event and talent management apart from digital marketing and television productions. “I chose a music based event to relaunch our firm as my father had a penchant for writing songs.

He also had a platform called Shruti that encouraged musical talents. So, Tuneothsava is a tribute to him.”

Along with Joshi Chitra, Vinayak is relaunching his film career too this year. He will be playing a software engineer in Komal’s big release Govindayanamaha. “While I am keen on lead roles, I am not averse to playing character roles either. Also, I made it a point to cut the excess flab before restarting my film journey, but what’s funny is that people who wanted me to lose weight, now think I look too thin! But I am positive that I’ll get to be a part of good cinema,” he states.

Vinayak is also working on a script titled Kitaki Pakka (Window Seat), in which he will play the lead.