'I am fascinated by the lurking presence of the tiger.'
Natesh Hegde's full-length Kannada feature film, Vaghachipani, is one of the '30 films from five continents' and the first Kannada film being chosen in the Forum Main category at the 75th International Film Festival Berlin, popularly called Berlinale, scheduled from February 13 to 23.
Vaghachipani is Hegde's second film.
His first feature film Pedro -- which received acclaim from global film festivals and is produced by Rishabh Shetty -- is yet to see a theatrical release in India. Even the Bengaluru International Film Festival is yet to screen the film.
But it is Pedro which helped him find his producer for Vaghachipani in Anurag Kashyap, who in turn brought in Ranjan Singh, who had produced Kashyap's Kennedy.
"Anurag and I met in a film festivals screening Pedro, and we became friends. He told me he wanted to be associated with my next project. That is how he ended up co-producing Vaghachipani," Hegde tells PTI.
Pedro also introduced Hegde to to Singapore-based Jeremy Chua, the producer of Inside Yellow Cocoon Shell, which won the Camera d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
Chua was happy to co-produce Vaghachipani.
In a statement issued by the press office at the Berlinale, Vaghachipani is described as 'Indian cinema of stylish assurance and concision'.
Hegde said the way he approaches a film is what probably sets his films apart from the 'template' versions that are churned out by the dozen by the Kannada film industry.
"For me, it is not just storytelling. It is also about what I want to convey or achieve through the film," said Hegde.
He describes himself as an 'alien' in the Kannada film industry.
"I come from a village (in the Sirsi district of Karnataka) that you cannot even locate on Google maps. I still live there. So I had to create my own ecosystem. The one great advantage is that I could skip existing templates and do my own thing," said Hegde.
Hegde also does not subscribe to the notion that a place can define a person's taste in art.
"It is a notion that only if you have unfettered access to art, you'd be an artist or connoisseur. One could have the fastest speed Internet, but that does not necessarily teach him or her how to develop a taste in the arts," said Hegde.
Hegde says he was always interested in films.
"I was watching everything that came my way. Just like most people do when they want to explore films beyond their region and language, I too started streaming films from pirated Web sites. Then one day, I watched that a film that made me want to do more than just watch," said Hegde.
After that, Hegde said he sought out films made by filmmakers whose idea of filmmaking he resonated with.
"Abbas Kiarostami, Robert Bresson, G Aravindan, Ritwik Ghatak and Kenji Mizaguchi are some of the directors whose work made me realise that I wanted to make films like that," said Hegde.
Hegde said he was lucky that his parents stood with him and his quest to become a filmmaker, although they did not understand the whys and hows.
"They are your regular village people. They did agriculture like everybody else there. My father doubled as an electrician in the village," said Hegde.
When Hegde turned filmmaker, his father turned an actor, the director said.
"I cast him as Pedro out of necessity and he surprised me with his acting skills. He was even nominated as the Best Actor at the Indian Festival Melbourne 2024," said Hegde.
Vaghichipani, said Hegde, is named after his neighbouring village in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, which derives its name from a pond where tigers come to quench their thirst.
"I am fascinated by the lurking presence of the tiger," said Hegde.
Vaghichipani tells the story of a mentally challenged shepherdess, who is preyed upon by patriarchy.
The film was shot on a 16mm camera by Cinematographer Vikas Urs, who also worked on Pedro.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff.com
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