The new breed of filmmakers in Kannada is cool. They don’t trudge around Gandhinagar knocking on producers doors because they know they’ll be shooed away. They watch world cinema but don’t have a condescending attitude towards the pot boilers churned here. Pundits have unfairly labelled them ‘multiplex’ directors and have been proven wrong, mostly. Big ticket moneybags still seek stars rather than scouring for sensible content. This has in no way disheartened these youngsters. If Pawan Kumar came up with the ingenious idea of crowd funding, then Anup Bhandari lured a producer by playing the songs for his debut venture over Skype. Pawan paved the way by highlighting the power of social media in promoting his film and Anup made us realise that homesick Kannadigas abroad crave for sensible content rather than kitsch. If a wave started with ‘Lucia’ and ‘Rangi Taranga’ the tide rose with ‘Godhi Banna...’. Now the refreshing thing about these youngsters is that they keep in touch, not to gossip but discuss and seek advice depending on the strengths of others. They are passionate about redeeming the image of Kannada cinema. This is remarkable considering I know a couple of front line directors who constantly keep talking of migrating to other languages because they feel creatively claustrophobic making Kannada films. One of them tried but had to beat a hasty retreat after being spurned by prospective producers.
Anup Bhandari is a restless guy used to multi-tasking. The fact that you can’t control everything is irritating till you accept it, however reluctantly. The shooting of his next venture, ‘Rajaratha’, has been slowed down because of demonetisation. “It’s not because we were using unaccounted money but are unable to withdraw sufficient amounts,” he is quick to add. He has had to cancel his trip to Chennai due to the demise of Jayalalithaa.
There is an air of confidence about Anup that is infectious. He threw up a cushy job and a life free of basic worries in Hartford, Connecticut to chase his dream. A tough decision especially when you have a working wife and a child. “It was done after a lot of thought. My wife stayed back till I made ‘RangiTaranga’ and it succeeded,” says Anup. Of course the deal would have been if the film failed he would return, but it turned out to be a blockbuster. It is not just sheer guts but confidence in his own abilities that is laudable. The only recognisable name in the cast was Saikumar. “The collection on the first day was only 20 percent,” recalls Anup. Nothing can keep an interesting film down and positive word of mouth helped even though it was pitted against behemoths like ‘Bahubali’ and ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’. The film struck a chord not only because of the interesting content but also because it reflected the local ethos convincingly. Anup worked relentlessly though. “I wanted everyone even in the remotest of villages to watch my film.” The film even earned a fortune for Ajay Reddy who bought the overseas rights. “Nobody cares for stars here. I liked the content,” says Ajay.
Success thankfully came with a bundle of lessons. Sadly the film industry teaches you never to trust. Anup realised this nearly too late even though his experienced father Sudhaker Bhandari smelt a rat. Everyone seemed to have made money but the producer strangely claimed to be in debts. Anyway Anup has moved on.
Ajay Reddy and Satish Shastri who distributed ‘RangiTaranga’ had developed enough faith in Anup’s abilities to venture into production. ‘Rajaratha’ is being made in Kannada and Telugu. Nirup again plays the protagonist and the budget is slightly bigger. “That helps because I don’t have to compromise on quality,” says Anup, who has even got the famed choreographer duo Bosco and Ceaser for a campus song. Keen on shaping his brother Nirup’s acting career, he’s producing a film to be directed by Rishab Shetty. “It’s a gangster flick that traverses a couple of decades. I sort of liked ‘Ricky’ and feel Rishab will do a good job,” says Anup. He’s floated a production company and is keen on promoting young talent with fresh ideas. “I don’t believe in offbeat films. I think anything we say should be laced with entertainment,” says Anup. “I would be satisfied if the film earned one rupee more than the budget. I have several story ideas. Directors can develop them or come up with something we both like.”
Times have changed. I remember post ‘Roja’ sitting in a city pub with Mani Ratnam and nobody recognised him. Today, with the omnipresent social media, none can hide. The waiter at the restaurant hesitantly approached Anup and heaped praise. “I loved the music and especially the flavour of Kannada spoken in ‘RangiTaranga’. I’m eagerly awaiting ‘Rajaratha’,” he gushed as Anup blushed.
S.Shiva Kumar
sshivu@yahoo.com
