2nd Life addresses issue of preserving Umbilical cord

S. Shyam Prasad

Very few Kannada films address issues beyond what the mass market audience prefers. While action, romance, comedy and horror make up most of the mainstream films, art films usually address only social evils. So a film that has a theme as niche as the issue of preserving the umbilical cord for treatment of cancers, comes as a surprise.

The trailer of the film was launched earlier this week and the film team revealed that it has addressed this issue. “There are estimated to be 70 to 80 thousand people suffering from various cancers in Karnataka alone. The treatment of some cancers using the hematopoietic stem cells harvested from umbilical cords is in vogue.

However, the general population is still not aware of it. We are trying to get this message across to as many people as possible through this feature film,” said director Raju Devasandra. About the title, he said, “When we escape from a life threatening situation, we say we got a second chance at life. Since our film addresses such issues, we have named the film 2nd Life.

When you watch the trailer, you get to know how we connect the title with the theme of the film. We hope to release the film very shortly.” The release date of the film is however not fixed. The film is a joint venture between Jayanna Films and Shukra Films. This is the second film for Adarsh Gunduraj, the auditor turned actor, who made his debut in the comedy film Swartha Ratna.

“The story by Manjula Ramesh is something extraordinary. It is not the usual stories you find in films. That is the biggest reason to start this venture,” he said. The film will be released in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. “The film was shot in all the three languages rather than being dubbed,” he said. The leading lady of 2nd Life is Sindhu Rao plays a blind character in the film.