Prem, the director of Raaj the Showman is the highest paid director in Kannada having struck gold with three of his four films made so far.
His first film Kariya ran for 500 days and made Darshan a very big star. His second film Excuse Me ran for nearly 35 weeks in Bangalore's Kapali theatre. The third film Jogi with Shivaraj Kumar was a blockbuster.
Despite the debacle he faced in his fourth film, he was selected by producer Suresh Gowda and Sreenivasa Murthy to direct Raaj, the Showman with Puneet Raj Kumar and Priyanka Kothari in the lead.
Prem, who has been shuttling between Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore for the past one month for the post production work of Raaj, speaks exclusively to R G Vijayasarathy about his film and reveals many things that were not disclosed till now.
'I want to ensure that the audience gets the best experience'
It is just two days for the release of your most expected film Raaj, the Showman. Are you nervous?
I am as anxious and excited as any film director who is waiting for his film to be released. My priority now is to see that the screening of the film in India and abroad goes off very smoothly. I want to ensure that the audience gets the best experience.
I am personally going to each theatre to see the projection details and making arrangements for any changes including the change of bulbs, carbon or any such equipment. I don't want to see the hard work of more than 150 artists and technicians go to waste just because some theatres do not have good screening opportunities.
But I am also proud that this film is creating this kind of buzz and hype. See the way people thronged to the theatres on Tuesday night itself demanding for tickets. This was something unheard off as far as Kannada films are concerned.'Raaj... will be the ultimate in graphics'
You said before the launch that Raaj, the Showman will showcase the strength of the Kannada film industry and its technical expertise. Do you think you have achieved this objective?
Yes, I am more than happy with the way the film has shaped up. I can assure you one more thing -- Raaj will clearly prove that Kannada films can meet the challenge of any non-Kannada film.
Raaj will be the ultimate in graphics. We may not match the budgets of the big non-Kannada films, but we have really taken up the challenge to make a film which can be easily compared to any top commercial films in Hindi, Tamil or Telugu.
We have used the same kind of camera and lighting equipments that were used in films like Ghajini, Ayan, Kandaswamy and Magadheera.
One thing I can assure you, Raaj will not only be a top commercial entertainer but will be classified as the best film technically. Even the art direction and editing will be spoken about.
'Appu jumped from 80 feet high building effortlessly'
You have not revealed anything about the story, though you have spoken about the making of the film at many places. Can you at least tell us something about Puneet's character?
I will tell you this much: he plays Muththuraj, a film aspirant who comes from his village to realise his dreams. Finally he goes back to his village. How he struggles and why he feels village life is best suited for him forms the main part of the story.
It is better for the audience to watch Appu sir (Puneet Raj Kumar) on screen. Only Appu could have carried off such a role so effortlessly. Appu has a lot of energy and he has shown all that on screen. He jumped from 80 feet high building effortlessly. He has not used any dupes for even the most daring stunt.
He will be seen in many get-ups. He has lot of punch dialogues which will definitely strike a chord with the audience and revive nostalgic memories in them about Dr Raj Kumar sir.
Muththu ondhu sathi maaathu kotre mugeethu (If Muthu promises just once, then it is finished for ever) and Muththu kotre silent aagi thogolthaa irbeku ashte (You should silently receive whatever Muthu gives you ) are two such dialogues which will be lapped up by Appu's fans.
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