Sandalwood Samachara

Rishi, who seemed to have the most hectic callsheet in Sandalwood, has found time be at home and spend it with wife Swati during the lockdown. Rishi, who posts messages on social media very sparingly, has been a great fan of his wife’s writing skills and has been sharing links to her short stories that have been published to all his fans and followers. Swati, who is a bit more active on social media, has been giving Rishi’s fans an occasional peek into their lives during the lockdown.

The ‘Lucia’ director also has an autobiographical podcast series, and most recently, a YouTube workshop on film production

Pawan Kumar has tweeted more in the last two months than he did in the last two years. During this period, he set up an online platform to support Kannada film industry’s daily-wage workers, an autobiographical podcast series, and, most recently, a YouTube workshop on film production.

“I feel like I am working more now than I did pre-lockdown,” says Pawan, “On some days, I am up at five in the morning and my brain is super-active and ready to go.”

The COVID-19 situation, like for most people in the world, is unprecedented for Pawan. But the resultant isolation is not unusual for him. “I have been trained to live like this,” he laughs. Over a decade ago, for several months after quitting Engineering, he sat at home and merely watched the bustle of others’ lives. Sometimes, he writes scripts in seclusion. “Throughout my career, I have experienced lockdown.”

A fixation for fixing

He started with a fundraiser (of ₹14 lakh) for the daily-wage earners in the Kannada film industry. “There were a few hassles in transferring the money to many people at once. And, people wanted to know if their donations reached the workers.” So, he came up with a new platform, which displays the worker’s name, age, work experience, union, and the UPI ID.

He also found a slightly distant problem to address. “A lot of the audience don’t have an idea of how the [Kannada film] industry works. Most of them think that everyone associated with films makes a lot of money. That’s probably why they don’t consider piracy a serious issue. So, I wanted to talk about film production in Kannada cinema.” The seven-video series on YouTube, which he made in 10 days, are also lessons for aspiring filmmakers.

If everything had gone as per plan, the Kannada film industry would have seen four big films release from April to possibly, September. Tharun Sudhir’s Roberrt, starring Darshan, Shiva Karthik’s Kottigobba 3,starring Sudeep, Santhosh Ananddram’s Yuvarathnaa, starring Puneeth Rajkumar, and Nanda Kishore’s Pogaru, with Dhruva Sarja.

After that would have been the turn of two much-awaited films backed by Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah — Kiranraj K’s Charlie, starring Rakshit Shetty, and Suni’s Avatara Purusha, starring Sharan. Most of these were touted to be sure-shot money-spinners, and now, they either languish in post-production or with some portions left to shoot. The last hit in the industry was possibly investigative-thriller Ramesh Aravind-starrer Shivaji Surathkal, the box office run of which was truncated.

Since the lockdown was put into effect, the Kannada film industry, like the other major film industries in the country and outside, has been facing one issue after the other. But members have also been working hard to ensure those without an income manage to sustain themselves.

Director Pawan Kumar, known for his indie film projects and crowdsourcing ability, teamed up with actress Shraddha Srinath to read out an old script, written by him, live on Instagram. And then, they encouraged everyone to donate money towards the welfare of workers who have been without work for more than a month now. Pawan raised upwards of Rs 9 lakh, and distributed it among 507 people. To streamline the system, he even launched a website, with a section devoted to donation. There are a thousand names in the database that appear on the landing page by turn, and a donation of any amount can be made to them via UPI.

“I have a home to live in, where I can survive. But what about daily wagers? It was an impulsive decision to do something sitting from home, harnessing technology, to do something worthwhile. Shraddha was game, and we decided to do a script reading. It was a two-character play I wrote when I was 21, and we decided to go live on Instagram. I think what we did was not just talk but creatively engage the audience. But everyone has started doing something so that’s an inspiration to come up with newer creative ways of engaging people while speaking about causes,” he says.

As the Kannada film audience is looking forward to watching Crazy Star Ravichandran’s second son in Trivikrama, the actor is making use of the lockdown time to ponder over how he should go about with his next project  
 

All eyes are currently on Vikram Ravichandran, as the Kannada film audience looks forward to watching Ravichandran’s second son in his maiden debut as a hero in Trivikrama. Meanwhile, the actor is currently using the lockdown time to finalise on his second film, and that’s the buzz doing the rounds now. Ask Vikram about this, and he replies, “I have been approached by a couple of directors, including a Telugu filmmaker who is keen to do a Kannada film. I am reading scripts and would want to confirm one, but the COVID-19 crisis has pushed the entire plan,” says Vikram, adding, “Hopefully, I would want to announce my second project along with the trailer of Trivikrama.

But again, I will do it at the perfect time.” The actor has completed the entire shoot for Trivikrama and is left with two songs to film. Vikram is also making use of this time to work out how he should go ahead with his second film. Coming from the Crazy Star’s clan, it is obvious that the actor is looking for something different. Accordingly, he is looking for something out-of-the-box. “I don’t want to be part of the regular plot, and that’s what is in my head. Being Ravichandran’s son, I am working towards bringing a whole new version of cinema to the Kannada industry.

 Having said that, I will not say that people wouldn’t have seen anything like that. But from my end, I want to make a different note,” says Vikram, adding, “I want to steadily get marked for one genre, and not be an option for two-three heroes. I know my first film is commercial, and it would have suited any other hero. But for the second and third films, If I get the right subject and placement, I want that particular subject and genre to suit only Vikram. I believe that being distinct can bring recognition, and that’s something we need to build on our own.”  The actor says we can’t exactly predict the future of the cinema world post the coronavirus crisis. “Right now,  we can’t analyse the future of the industry. It all depends on the audience, and how they receive it,” he says.

Kichcha Sudeep starrer Kotigobba 3’s first lyrical video of the title track, Aakaashaane Adharisuva, from the film, is all set to be released on April 27. The actor himself made an official announcement about the release on his Twitter handle.

The title track has been composed by music director Arjun Janya and sung by VyasRaj with lyrics written by Dr Nagendra Prasad. Directed by debutant Shiva Karthik, Sudeep himself has penned Kotigobba 3. Initially, the film was scheduled to release on April 30 to cash in on the summer vacations. But the ongoing coronavirus outbreak has upset plans. The film will be presented by Rockline Entertainers and produced by Surappa Babu. 

The film has Madonna Sebastian and Shraddha Das playing the female leads with Bollywood actor Aftab Shivdasani in an important role. The others in the supporting cast include Tabla Nani, Rajesh Nataranga and Ravi Shankar. Arjun Janya is composing music for this venture while Shekar Chandru is handling the camera.

Sudeep’s last outing was Salman Khan’s Bollywood film Dabangg 3. The film was produced by Arbaaz Khan and directed by actor-choreographer-director Prabhu Deva.

Sudeep has moved over to the sets of his next film titled Phantom. Sudeep and director Anup Bhandari are teaming up for Phantom and this is their first outing together. Manjunath Gowda, a close associate of Sudeep, will be bankrolling the film under his banner.

Reports are that Anup had floored Sudeep with an impressive script following which the actor decided to shelve Billa Ranga Baashaa, which was announced earlier. The groundwork for Phantom has been going on for months now and the shooting is all set to commence post lockdown in Hyderabad. According to sources in the know, Samantha Akkineni is the top contender to play the heroine in Phantom but she is yet to sign on the dotted line.

• 

Actor Puneeth Rajkumar has been on a rather busy schedule, owning to the filming of Yuvarathnaa. He has also embarked on James, his next film. The lockdown period, which had come as a sudden break from work, has led to Puneeth using his time to make the most with his family. He reveals that he has been mainly working out and spending time with family with movie sessions and more. He also adds that he now gets time to catch up on a lot of films that he could not see in recent times. “I am watching all the movies that were on my list based on the recommendations of my friends. I also have time to binge watch on some of the shows that I like too,” he adds.

ಮಫ್ತಿ’ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಸೂಪರ್ ಹಿಟ್ ಹಿಟ್ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಸಿನಿಮಾವನ್ನು ಜನ ಅಪ್ಪಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸಿನಿಮಾದ ಓಪನ್ ಎಂಡಿಂಗ್ ಕ್ಲೈಮ್ಯಾಕ್ಸ್ ನೋಡಿದವರು ಚಿತ್ರದ ಮುಂದುರವರೆದ ಭಾಗವಾಗಿ ಪಾರ್ಟ್ 2 ಬರುತ್ತದೆಯಾ ಎಂಬ ಕುತೂಹಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದರು. ಆದರೆ ಈಗ ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸ್ವತಃ ಚಿತ್ರದ ನಾಯಕ ಶ್ರೀ ಮುರಳಿ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.’ಮಫ್ತಿ 2′ ಸಿನಿಮಾವನ್ನು ಸದ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಆಲೋಚನೆಯಿಲ್ಲ. ನನ್ನ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಬದ್ಧತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಗಿಸಿದ ನಂತರ ‘ಮಫ್ತಿ’ಯ ಮುಂದುವರಿದ ಭಾಗವನ್ನು ಕೈಗೆತ್ತಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೇವೆ. ಇಂದಿನ ಕಾಲದ ಜನರು ಇಷ್ಟಪಡುವ ಚಿತ್ರ ಮಫ್ತಿಯಾಗಿದೆ. ಜನರ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಗೆ ತಕ್ಕಂತೆ ಎರಡನೇ ಭಾಗವನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವ ಯೋಜನೆಯಿದೆ” ಎಂದು ಶ್ರೀ ಮುರಳಿ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಕಳೆದ ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ ತೆರೆಗೆ ಬಂದ ‘ಮಫ್ತಿ’ ಸಿನಿಮಾಗೆ ಪ್ರೇಕ್ಷಕರಿಂದ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮಟ್ಟದ ಬೆಂಬಲ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೆ. ಇದರಿಂದ ಸಂತಸದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಶ್ರೀ ಮುರಳಿ ‘ಮಫ್ತಿ 2’ ಮಾಡುವ ಪ್ಲಾನ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ, ‘ಮಫ್ತಿ’ ಒಬ್ಬ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿ ಮತ್ತು ಗ್ಯಾಂಗ್ ಸ್ಟಾರ್ ನಡುವೆ ನಡೆಯುವ ಕಥೆ ಆಗಿದೆ. ಶಿವರಾಜಕುಮಾರ್ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಭೈರತಿ ರಣಗಲ್ಲು ಪಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ನಟಿಸಿದ್ದು, ಆ ಪಾತ್ರ ಈಗ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಟ್ರೆಂಡ್ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿ ಮಾಡಿದೆ. ನರ್ತನ್ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನದ ಈ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ವಸಿಷ್ಠ, ಶಾನ್ವಿ ಶ್ರೀವಾತ್ಸವ, ದೇವರಾಜ್, ಪ್ರಕಾಶ್ ಬೆಳವಾಡಿ ನಟಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

Kichcha Sudeep is awaiting the release of his upcoming big-budget flick, Kotigobba 3, directed by Shivakarthik. On February 21, the actor took to Twitter share the teaser of the film. The latest development is that the teaser has been pulled out of YouTube due to copyright infringement.

The teaser of Kotigobba 3 earned a lot of recognition from fans of the franchise. A person named Sanjay Kumar PAL has informed YouTube about the teaser and the video streaming platform has removed the teaser because of his copyright claim.

Kichcha Sudeep took to Twitter to state that this isn’t a huge trouble for the team and that the teaser will be out soon. He wrote, “This aint any trouble in comparison to th trouble mankind is facing at th moment. This joke called trouble to K3 wil be delt wth at easeeeee. Teaser wil b online asap, maybe tmrw itself. N The release wil happen wth the respect it deserves.(sic).”

Reportedly, Kichcha Sudeep and the rest of the team shot some important sequences in Poland last year. However, the producers of Kotigobba 3 have been stuck in a controversy regarding pending dues.

Rambabu Productions, the production house of Kotigobba 3, had sought the services of Vibrant Ltd in Poland, who helped the team in getting permissions and with the shoot. The latter had filed a complaint with the Poland police stating that the production house has forged bank statements and haven’t paid a huge sum of Rs 88.8 lakh.

According to the latest news, the producer and the executive producers of Kotigobba 3 are at loggerheads regarding the pending payment. It is said that a legal action has been taken against them.

Meanwhile, there are reports doing the rounds that Kotigobba 3 might release in summer 2020.