Kishore: I am Pranaya Raja in Ulidavaru Kandanthe

Kishore Kumar is one of the finest multi-lingual actors in the south. He acted in some of the finest films made last year - Attahaasa (Vanayudham in Tamil), Jatta in Kannada and Haridas in Tamil.

He will also be seen in Ram Gopal Varma’s next Telugu film, Rowdy.

Kishore is one of the five main characters in Rakshit Shetty’s Ulidavaru Kandanthe that releases today, March 28.

He talks to Rediff about the film and his role.

In the trailer of the film, you are called Pranaya Raja (King of Romance), and even the Gaatiya Ilidu song teaser portrays you as such. Is he a hopeless romantic?

Well, his name is Munna and his friends tease him by calling him ‘Pranaya Raja’. He is head over heels in love with this fisherwoman. 

Apart from being in love with this woman, what is your character all about?

I play a mechanic who is from Mandya but moves to work in Udupi on the coast. There is a particular incident that happens and there are a few people who live to tell their story from their point of view. Thus Ulidavaru Kandanthe (As seen by the rest).

So you speak in the Mandya dialect of Kannada unlike the other characters who speak in the coastal dialect?

Yes, that’s right. The coastal flavour of the language will be very refreshing in this film.

Tulu has been used in songs and no explanation of the lyrics has been given. It is a very brave move.

We know the audience will follow it. For a long time now, people in the industry have underestimated the audience.

People in Karnataka understand Tamil-language films, so why assume they may not follow other accents of Kannada? 

What was your experience of working with Rakshit?

The Rakshit in Simplagondu Love Story is very different from the one you will see in Ulidavaru Kandanthe.

He thinks differently and is innovative.

When I first heard that he had set out to make a film like Pulp Fiction, I was like “Oh! Is it?!” but when I met him, I realised how different he was as a story teller.

He also has the technical knowledge of filmmaking. I saw this short film made by him called Confessions Of A Dustbin. He knows filmmaking.

We often come across filmmakers who like to flaunt their technical knowledge and lose out on storytelling but this guy is not among them.

I also have to talk about the producers. They have been very supportive to Rakshit and the entire team.

Simplagondu Love Story was shot very simply, but Ulidavaru Kandanthe was not as simple a story to shoot.

Rakshit has roped in a very talented cameraman called Karm Chawla. He has brought in a lot of vibrancy and colour to the film.

The coastal locations, the Janmashtami scene are all a riot of colours. He has shot them very well.

In coastal places, clouds appear from nowhere and then disappear, and that’s not easy to shoot. It can be challenging and tiring. Both the director and cinematographer kept pushing their limits and the outcome is splendid.

Rakshit worked under so much pressure. He had to call the shots as the director, then play his part of Richie, and co-coordinate the production.

Rishab was also working as an associate. It was very nice to work with such a vibrant young team.

Will the effort pay off?

I am sure it will.