Director Lingaraj
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In an age when there is no dearth of entertainment, a film running for a week in theatres seems daunting. Despite the many virtual platforms vying with each other to keep the viewer glued to their screens, come films like KGF and Kantaara that sweep the box office and are termed blockbusters. But, these films are backed by huge budgets for their making, marketing and their screens are filled with stars. In the midst of these situations, come small-budgeted films with theatre actors and a young debut director, who says he has “no clue how to market a film”, yet, it becomes a hit.
The cast and crew on the sets of the film
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Lingaraj Uchangidurga came to Bengaluru from a small village in North Karnataka called Uchangidurga over a decade ago. “It was a dream to get involved in the film and television world and I got into the small screen industry,” says Lingaraj, who started off as an assistant director for television serials like Silly Lalli (2006, when he came into the film industry), Maina, Ee bandhana, Shirdi Saibaba, Aavarna for DD to name a few. “I worked mainly as an assistant director, but started writing only with the film Raja Yoga,” says the director who made his directorial debut with this film.
The film is written and directed by Lingaraj and features the popular theatre and film actor Kadur Dharmanna, who rose to fame in the role of Dharma with Rama Rama Re.
An elated Lingaraj speaks during his ride back to Bengaluru from his hometown and says “Raja Yoga is a simple story of a man from a village, whose parents believe extensively in astrology. Though I know nothing about astrology, I always wanted to write a story that would make people laugh and think at the same time. That is how the story was written. The aim was to provide a commercial element with humour and a message.”
“From what I have observed, when rural boys move out into cities, they find it a harder to adjust to the simplicity and beliefs of their rural lives when they do go back. Despite them wanting to go back to their roots, they, somehow feel, that they don’t blend in. This, I found fascinating. Perhaps, the change in their lifestyle and thinking changes when they move cities and they are unable to go back to that naive thinking. These are the aspects that the film explores through the characters in Raja Yoga. The protagonist is born under a faulty star and his parents do everything to set it right with the help of an astrologer. The biggest conflict being that the protagonist does not believe in astrology but in education and hard work,” he adds.
Lingaraj on the sets of Raja Yoga
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The script, he says, took about six to seven months to develop. But it took almost four years to hit the screen due to the pandemic. Raja Yoga is produced by Kumar Kanteerava (Kannad Gottila fame).
“First Dharmanna came on board. It was he who introduced me to Kumara Kanteerava who came on board as the producer of the film. Along with him came four more people as co-producers.”
The filmcompleted 50 days on Januray 6 and is still being screened in a theatre in Kadur. “Cinema is made to entertain. The viewer is not bothered about the budget or the actors in a film. If a film keeps them hooked and entertained, then it is a success. Yet, today, screening a film for a long period, in times of such strong contenders like the OTT and TV channels, Raja Yoga completing 50 days is definitely a humbling and encouraging experience,” says a happy Lingaraj, who states: “But, let me tell you that fear gripped me just before the film’s release. These days, a film that releases on a Friday does not last till the Sunday in theatres. And, here, I was a debut director, releasing my first film, with no fanfare and a small group of actors. What worried me most was if the amount of work we had all put in would pay off, specifically for the producer. Once the film released, we started counting days, with bated breath. And celebrated every day that the film ran in a theatre!”
He is now looking at releasing the film on the small screen and says, he is ready to launch his next in February, which again will be a comedy, “but, will mostly have the same team of cast and crew as Raja Yoga.”
