We take pride in representing Kannada cinema globally: Rakshit Shetty
Kannada cinema has made its way right on top of global cinema with films like KGF, Kantara, 777 Charlie and now Side A.
Rakshit Shetty
CHENNAI: We met Rakshit Shetty at a city hotel where he was acknowledging for selfies from his fans in Chennai. He is seen accompanied by filmmaker Hemanth Rao as Ezhu Kadal Thaandi in Tamil Nadu will be released by Karthik Subbaraj's Stone Bench Productions today. The first part won critical acclaim upon its release on Amazon Prime and was a box office success as well. "There is a loyal fan base to the film. We made Sapta Saagaradaache Ello aka Side A and Side B as one film. Upon seeing the reception, we decided to release the second part in other languages as well. So it is technically not a sequel as it was made as one," says Rakshit.
While Side A was a romantic drama, according to director Hemanth, Ezhu Kadal Thaandi will be more intense. "There is a natural flow to the story and we are confident about the film because of the way it has shaped itself. Side A has a calm poetry to it whereas the second part has chaotic poetry. We have been traveling with the characters for over 10 weeks as one is now separated from the other. So, the audience is on a wait and I want them to experience how things unfold," adds Hemanth.
On location of Ezhu Kadal Thaandi
Being a multidimensional personality— a director, an actor and a producer, Rakshit tells us that he listens to the story fitting him in his own boots. "People away from the industry look at it from different angles. To me it is all one. I see cinema from a holistic approach. I listen to stories as a movie geek and I see myself under one hat," he clarifies.
Kannada cinema has made its way right on top of global cinema with films like KGF, Kantara, 777 Charlie and now Side A. "It has been an immense pride to represent Kannada cinema. We always thrived on this. We make certain kinds of films and then there are commercial films. KGF opened the gate in a certain way and now it has opened avenues to every story and filmmaker which is a beautiful process. We also understand that there is certainly responsibility to it," Rakshit signs off.