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The Master Speaks…!!!

On the Eve of “Ramya Chaitra Kaala”

An Exclusive Interview with "Sunil Kumar Desai" by Somashekar T, only on www.totalkannada.com

Sunil Kumar Desai, arguably the Best Kannada Film Director of Modern Era, who is well known for making some elegant films like “Beladhingaale Baale”, “Nishkarsha”, etc, has also shown his different dimensions through thrillers like “Tharka”, “Uthkarsha”, etc, and then of course the musical-love stories like “Nammoora Mandhaara Hoove”, “Sparsha”, etc.  And now, he has ventured into “Ramya Chaitra Kaala”, after a gap of almost three years!!!  Let us talk to him on this wonderful occasion…

First of all, why “Ramya Chaitra Kaala” kind of movie, when the trend in Kannada films is completely different today?

Well, I have always made different kind of films without sticking to any regular approach.  One “Nishkarsha” is followed by “Beladhingala Baale”, then “Nammoora Mandhara Hoove” and then “Marma” and again back to a love story.  I hope that people will take “Ramya Chaitra Kaala” kind of movie at this point of time!  I would always like to move against the wind & believe that I can succeed in my route…

Looking at the costumes & songs, it seems like “Ramya Chaitra Kaala” is a complete village-based love story...

Yes, as compared to “Nammoora Mandhaara Hoove” which was also shot under rural backdrop, “Ramya Chaitra Kaala” definitely has a more village-feel in it.  We have developed the Story & Characters in accordance to that.  The songs & lyrics have lot of folk touch.

How will you back the Hero of this film, who has a very different kind of look?  Has he performed up to your expectations?

The new Hero “Sandeep” has really performed brilliantly.  Especially in the second half, his character progresses very well.  His character is the centrifugal force in the film.  As soon as I saw him, I felt that he is the Hero for this film!  He has performed as good as anybody who acted in my earlier films. Not sure whether he can go on to become a Star in Kannada Film Industry with other kind of roles, but he has shaped up nicely in this role.  I expect the State Award for his acting in this film!!!

What about the other artistes?

Most of them are local artistes only!  The Heroine has performed well within her limitations, as there is more scope for Hero in this film.

Did your actors/actresses used dubbing artistes for their roles, which is a fashion today even for those who hail from our own land?

Sandeep has used his own voice, but yes, the heroine “Nandhitha” has used a dubbing artiste, because her role required a voice that needed to sound a bit village-accented, which she failed to deliver during the voice-test.

What differences have you found in Old Artistes, New Artistes & Borrowed Artistes?

Yes, I too am worried about the artistes being borrowed from outside.  But sometimes, the market creates such an environment where we are forced to bring them from outside.  There are some people in our land who want to act in films without adequate preparations & proper visions.  Probably this could have led to the crowding of imported artistes in our land.  However, I didn’t find any difference between Old or New artistes, because most of them have performed very well in my films.

How about the New Music Director?  Did he reach up to your expectation levels?  What about the Lyrics?

Yes, I have always concentrated on Music in my films.  And even though the new Music Director "Shyam Sundar" is just making his debut in films, I’m confident that his songs would create the same kind of zeal among the people as it did with my earlier films.  Lyrics are written by K.Kalyan, Prof. Doddarange Gowda & Jayanth Kaykini.  The Songs have come out really well.  Jayanth Kaykini has written the Story & Dialogues for this film.  His presence in the film will surely be felt.

What is the Specialty & Uniqueness about “Ramya Chaitra Kaala”?

Well, as I said before, this is going to be a different film amongst the Kannada films today.  We have shot this film in some rare locations, mostly forest areas.  We have explored “Yaana Rocks” more than what we did in “Nammoora Mandhara Hoove”.  The audiences will feel a very different & pleasure experience, with this film containing no violence or vulgarity.  I’m confident that people would appreciate my effort, as they did many times with me…

Looking Beyond “Ramya Chaitra Kaala”, I tried to question Desai about some serious problems in Kannada Film Industry today.  Let us find out his answers for that…

What can you say about the state of Kannada Film Industry today?

I think it’s doing well, with most films winning as compared to other languages.  Earlier there was a threat that Kannada Films would very rarely become Hit, in spite of the film being good & marketed well.  But for the last couple of years, things have changed and people have started to accept Kannada films.  Overall, I think that Kannada Filmmakers are having happy hours at the moment!

What is your opinion on our filmmakers’ continued obsession towards remake films, in spite of many films becoming Hit?  Don’t we have any writers, novelists here?

Well, I have tried my best to keep away from Remake films.  It’s the problems of others.  Anyhow, I should say that, there is a lack of Film Story-Writers and the way they approach us.  In Tamil Film Industry, there are some professional Film Story-Writers, who have dedicated themselves for writing stories to films only!  The same thing is present in other languages too, for some extent.  But here in Kannada, we don’t have such writers who write it purposefully for films.  Most times it becomes difficult to visualize their stories into films.  That’s probably the reason why I feel that Kannada filmmakers have drifted towards Remake films.

What is your opinion on allowing dubbing in Kannada, so that the effect of other languages & their films in Karnataka is lessened?  (Desai had a very interesting view on this)

If Dubbing of non-Kannada films into Kannada is allowed at this point of time, then the whole Industry will fall into a pit!  Our people are already obsessed with other language actors like Chiranjeevi, Rajni Kanth, Kamal Hasan, Shah Rukh Khan, etc.  If their films are available in Kannada language, then even the handful of people who watch Kannada films would stop watching Kannada films!  This would destroy Kannada Films’ market completely and would abruptly terminate the careers of some of our actors!  I don’t think our industry-men would ever allow Dubbing of non-Kannada films.

 Dubbing non-Kannada films would particularly affect the sensitive border areas of Karnataka & the Cosmopolitan Bangalore, where the Kannada Population is decaying from day to day…

This would be like a huge setback to our Artistes & Workers!  More & more dubbed films would result in the steep decrease in the number of Original Kannada Movies.  The Industry would then become a mere Workshop with people working only on dubbing the speech in films.  Also, non-Kannada film distributors could then directly endeavor their business in Karnataka, which can take the film-revenues totally away from our hands.  Hence, Remake Films are better compared to Dubbed films, keeping the Industry’s health in mind.  Dubbing non-Kannada films is not the only way to improve the condition of our Language!

Finally, are you happy with our Press Media for their support & encouragement towards you?  (I asked this question, because some of the other directors, especially Upendra is unhappy about our Press Reporters for writing discouraging articles about them through out their career...)

I’m totally satisfied with the way Press-Reporters have behaved with me.  I think they have mostly written good reviews on my films, may it be “Beladhingala Baale” OR “Nishkarsha” OR “Nammoora Mandhara Hoove”.  Press people have encouraged me very well & I’m grateful to them...

Let us wish Good Luck to Mr. Sunil Kumar Desai on the eve of his 12th Directorial Venture “Ramya Chaitra Kaala”.  Sure he would not disappoint us & would come up with something special again!  Let us continue supporting & encouraging him!  www.totalkannada.com salutes the man who has brought many accolades to Kannada Film Industry for the past decade…

Somashekar T
Bangalore
somashekart@yahoo.com

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