Dinesh Baboo on his experince with Priyanka

It has been three years since your last film. Where have you been? After Ondu Kshanadalli, I stayed with my father and family in Thiruvananthapuram for one and a half years. My dad will complete 93 years this December. He is wheelchair bound and lost his hearing. The only way to communicate with him is through writing. His complaint is that my elder brother who stays in the US visits him once a year, but I being just one-hour flying distance away never visit him.So I stayed there with him and my family members including my daughter. I did not do any work. I was away for a long time from them. I came back in 2014 and directed 60 episodes of the television serial Swati Muttu.
That was not your first foray into television... I have directed 100 episodes of Mane Mane Kathe and Akanksha before that.
You don't seem to enjoy television. Directors go on to direct hundreds if not thousands of episodes... It is too tedious a job. Writing four episodes of 30 minutes each for a serial means you have written for the duration of one full film. Moreover, I feel that the only intention of making serials is to make money. I feel I should not have done serials. That is completely my opinion. I feel there is no creativity in serials, be it direction, acting or cinematography, and there is little scope for creativity. The only criteria is to garner TRP by making women who watch the serials cry.
Can a director change how serials are made? When you watch a movie, you have something to pick out of it and talk. Try to pick something from a serial and talk about it. It is not there. I said I should not have done serials for my own reasons. I cannot straight away condemn all serials. It is a 24-hour job. Personally, it was an experience.The brain is always on the run. If you see what is happening Kerala, film directors are slamming serials.Serial makers are of course upset with this and fighting back. So many film directors there are saying serials should be killed. And there were calls for banning television serials. It has become a big issue. The reason they are citing is that serials are killing everything including performance. Take acting as an example. Take a television actor and try to get him to do subtleties in a film. He cannot do it. This is because serials do not give them time. The play of silence is never possible in serials.Cinema has its own charm.
Why did you not do films for three years? I did not get any films. That is as straight a reason as can be. Only success counts. If I give continuous failures, the frequency of incoming offers is reduced.
How did Priyanka happen? I read about an incident in the newspapers. One of the reports said that the incident reminded one of my film Amruthavarshini. That got me interested. I gathered more information and began writing the film. It is inspired by the incident. When I met Mohan (producer), I told him about it, and he immediately liked it and decided to make the film. Soon, we had a team and the film started rolling. We got a new lyricist Keshav Chandra. His one line in a song; `Forgive me that I got to forget you now,' captures the mood of the film.
Do you see any transformation in yourself as a director? I keep updating myself.Technologically, films are changing every day. Cellulloid has completely made way for digital today. Even the approach to films have changed. We also need to keep abrest of it and keep pace with the change. But one can never judge oneself. If you think you know something, you will soon realise that you still need to know a lot more.
What have you noticed about Kannada films now? I see Kannada films in a very healthy phase. There are many good films around. But I did not like the kind of cheap publicity some are indulging in. Giving wrong information in publicity is wrong. If people like the film and comment on it, it is good. But inducing them to watch it showing false ratings is not right. Kendasampige released in Australia yesterday and the trailer of Priyanka was shown along with it. Some people called to say they liked it. It is heartening to see Kannada films being accepted abroad.
Sometimes you are still referred to as the Malayali Mantrik... I liked being called that and enjoyed it. Then someone told me that it was not a compliment but `mantrik' means black magician. I had a hearty laugh. I never need to indulge in black magic. I am quite comfortable being called that. I do not mind.
How was the experience of making Priyanka? All the actors involved had a very serious approach when working with me. Be it Priyanka Upendra, Prakash Rai or Veena Sundar. They all showed seriousness in the work. It was a big help to everyone involved in the making of the film.
Why should anyone watch Priyanka? It is an interesting film. There is no need to watch the film for its message. But the story has its own message if someone can pick it out. For example, we assume so many things when reading something. Say a message on Facebook. We see the words and not the mind of the person.There are good things in the film and I do not want to say it is the message.I would rather say it is an honest film.Let us see how far that honesty pays.
Characters in your films are finely etched... I would not say acting, but audience will like the performance of the actors in Priyanka. It will be one of the best performances of Priyanka Upendra. She did not act, she lived the role. When you see Prakash Rai's character, you suddenly feel you know someone like him.