Vishnuvardhan, Rajkumar's homes are mine here

Ace south film director P Vasu returns to Kannada films with the Shivarajkumar-starrer Shivalinga. He speaks to us about his journey in the Kannada film industry so far'
Kannada films made me P Vasu About two and a half decades ago, I remember coming in to Bengaluru on the behest of Udaya Shankar to narrate a story for a film in Kannada. My meeting was at Janardhana hotel. It is one of those authentic and no-frills-attached restaurants in Bengaluru and I remember I was surprised to see a big star like Dr Rajkumar in a place like that.I was told he would often hang out there. He had no airs whatsoever. I met him as a story writer, and gave him my narration right there and informed his aide Vardhappa that I was going to leave the next morning at 10.30 and to let me know what the outcome of that meeting was before then. The next day, he called me at 7 am to say the story had been approved. We were staying in two rooms next to each other at the hotel on that day, and he called back again by 10 am to tell me not to go back to Chennai. He said, 'Congratulations, you are the director of this film.' I had to pinch myself to ensure I was not dreaming. They felt the narration was given shot by shot rather than told as a story, which was what made them feel that I was the best person to direct it as I had visualized the whole film in my head. I was thrilled at the opportunity to be directing one of the biggest stars cinema here has seen. That was Guri, and that was when I was rechristened P Vasu, the director. There were so many films after that, mostly with Dr Vishnuvardhan. My association with Vishnuvardhan began with his wife Bharathi actually, who I have worked with on at least 4-5 films. With Vishnuvardhan in the lead role, we worked on so many successful films starting from Kathanayaka, Jayasimha, Jeevana Jyothi, Daada, and the fairly recent Apthamitra and Aptharakshaka. It has been an honour to direct the last one ' which was also Vishnuvardhan's 200th film. With so many decades of friendship with these two families, I can proudly say that I have two homes in Bengaluru ' one is Rajkumar's and the other is Vishnuvardhan's. They are like family and I thank God for such a blessing that I am aware not many people are bestowed with.
Working with Shivarajkumar Shivanna is the son of a big actor and I am the son of a big makeup artiste. In that way, we are similar as we come from filmi backgrounds. Even though we never worked together until now, on Shivalinga, we have been friends. I was nervous when I was putting together the script of Shivalinga for Shivanna. I recall questioning myself at each stage of the writing process and working extra hard on it. But for all the tension that I experienced then, directing him was a breeze. He is a very comfortable and easy person to work with. I have seen a lot of the new-age actors who retreat into their caravans once they deliver a shot. Shivanna is not like that. He is constantly on the set, by the monitor. That is great because an actor should be aware of what the other actors on the set are doing in order to be able to react to their characters while you are in character. While he does get involved, he does not interfere. There are no questions asked, and absolutely no requests of wanting to know what the plan for the day was or when to leave. He would do exactly what I asked of him. He has, no doubt, been well trained after watching his father on the set.
Of working with stars I believe in team spirit when it comes to working on any film. But when you are directing a star, the challenge is much greater, so much so that the preparation starts from within you. Firstly, you need to ensure that his work in the film is going to be even better than what he has done in the umpteen films he has done. And most importantly, a director should first be a fan of the hero. It is only then that you can be sure that the star's fans will get what they expect from their hero. You have to have those special shots you know that his fans will clap for.
Recreating the visual in the mind Lighting and sound are the biggest aids in telling a story the way it should be told. And I ensure I look into every frame for the same, even though there are experts handling the section. Today, we are lucky to have technical brilliance supporting the art in the form of cameras, equipments and digital interventions. For Shivalinga, I spent as many as 40 days on the sound and more on the lighting and colour of each screen, and the trailer gives one an idea of what to expect. You can't go wrong with such things as long as the detailing is right.
What to expect I approach every new film as my first. Shivalinga is one such. I am well-versed with the language as I feel knowing and loving a language are important when you want to tell a story in that language. Also, I prefer melody over peppy numbers as I feel they stay on in the minds of the listeners. V Harikrishna's music thrives on melody. The lyrics of the songs in my films also tell a story ' they are based on the situation relevant to the story rather than just placed in there for the heck of it. Also, the heroines of all my films are never props. They all are strong characters and Vedhika's role in Shivalinga is one such too.
Kannada is the toughest market When you have a successful Kannada film, you know that this film will work in any other language in the country. They are the best ones to pick up for a remake. That because of the cosmopolitan nature of the audience here. It is only in Karnataka that the audience is exposed to films from all languages. So a film that has worked here in spite of strong competition from just about anywhere and everywhere is bound to have it easy in any other language, for which the audience is a lot more local. I hope to remake Shivalinga in both Telugu and Tamil shortly.