Venkat Bharadwaj (left) just chilling on the sets
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Venkat Bharadwaj shot to fame with his film Kempirve, which also won the Karnataka State Film Award for the best screenplay. Despite being an award winning filmmaker, Venkat says, “Making a film is easy, but marketing it is an exhausting process. We don’t get enough support during the different stages of a film’s promotion and I am against paid promotions.”
“Today virtual platforms and troll pages seem to be the accepted trends to promote a film, which I do not believe in. I feel the film should talk about the director and his works. So if a low-profile person such as myself makes a film, then yes, marketing and promotions are a herculean task, irrespective of one’s past laurels,” says the director, whose Omelette had a direct OTT release during the pandemic.
The man, who believes in swimming against the current, is the son of the veteran film maker the late CV Shivashankar. Now, Venkat is all geared up to release his latest film, Naguvina Hoogale Mele, which will hit the screens on February 9.
Still from the film
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“Naguvina Hoogale Mele is in the romantic-drama genre, inspired by a true life incident. I would say the film is not just an entertainer, but also has social messages. Set in a timeline of six years, it captures love which seems to be evergreen, but, are we even losing out on this with the current life situations?” explains the director, whose previous release was Sri Ranga, released in July 2022.
Naguvina Hoogale Mele is produced by Sri Satya Sai Arts (Bengal Tiger fame) and this is their first Kannada film venture. “It is a pleasure to see a Telugu film banner coming forward to make a Kannada film,” beams the director whose film has Abhidas and Sharanya Shetty as the leading pair. On screen, the duo is supported by Girish Bettappa, Balrajwadi and Benaca Nanjappa among others.
The specialty of the film says Venkat, is that it is a clean entertainer, devoid of blood, gore and violence. Instead it talks about love, emotions and relationships, and can be watched by the entire family, says the filmmaker. He adds that nature plays a huge role in the film, which was shot in and around the beaches of Kundapura.
Venkat says he prefers to work with natural lights and locales
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“I did not want to put up a set and then shoot, so we sought and found natural locales such as Trasi beach and a few others, where the film was shot. The rest were shot in Hulikal Ghat, Mastigudi and Shivamogga. This way the entire Malnad region and its culture forms the backdrop of the film.”
“The story was triggered off by my conversation with a coconut vendor in front of a college in Ooty. One particular line he said became the premise for my film, which was adapted to the Karnataka region and the screenplay came into being,” says Venkat, who has two more films ready for release.
