A life cut short

He came to Gandhinagar with dreams in his eyes. Of directing a Puneet Rajkumar (Appu) film with the title from one of his father’s (Rajkumar) films. 

He was excited, almost like a kid, chattering nineteen to the dozen with the media and with the gathering at Iskcon during the launch of Appu’s film. The smile never left his face, as he faced all sorts of questions from the media. His enthusiasm wasn’t diminished a bit, even after directing 11 films. Shobhan, the director of Mayura:Naniruvude Nimagagi, passed away recently following a heart attack. The 41-year-old had acted in films like Oka Raja, Oka Rani and had worked as assistant editor with Ramgopal Varma and Krishnavamsi before turning a director. He had directed Mahesh Babu in Babi, Prabhas in Varsham and Chanti with Ravi Teja. Shobhan had also written the story for Murari. He was busy with Mayura at the time of his death.

News of his sudden demise reminded one of another promising life cut short: Mukul Anand, who directed the Amitabh Bachchan blockbuster Hum. Anand passed away in the middle of making Dus, after a heart attack. May their souls rest in peace.

Deprived of profit

Gandhinagar is strewn with instances of people forgetting those who held the ladder while they climbed to the top. Here’s another incident. Arjun Audio has so far released the music of several films; Duniya is the lone blockbuster among them. But one of the film’s producers Siddaraju is yet to reap the profit Duniya’s music has raked in. Shortly after Duniya was released, Siddaraju was approached by Sundar of Arjun Audio for the audio rights. Unsure of Duniya’s success, Siddaraju, who had tried releasing the music on his own, gave in. After getting the producer’s verbal approval, cassettes and CDs of Duniya were released by the audio company.

According to an estimate, Duniya’s music has fetched more than Rs one crore so far. But not a single paisa has reached Siddaraju. The audio company has made one or the other excuse, says Siddaraju. Frustrated but all the more wiser, Siddaraju has now released the music of Nanda Nandita, his son Yogesh’s debut film as hero. He is shortly releasing the music of Jaggesh-Pooja Gandhi starrer Kodagana Koli Nungitta as well. At the same time, he is contemplating legal action. Over to Sundar now.

Underworld don yet again

This skinny lad was a PUC student before plunging into acting. His character Loose Maada in film Duniya became a rage among youngsters while in real life, Yogesh had to face problems with the police; his portrayal was thorough to the point. Playing an underworld element — as Nanda — yet again, Yogesh displays similar characteristics — a mop of unruly hair, thin but lanky frame, even the usual shyness! Prodded to speak, this youngster first of all thanked—not his proud papa, but Soori, the director of Duniya for inspiring him to give his best.

Yogesh then said that climbing the Brahmagiri mountain in Bhagamandala with all the equipment was a bit risky, but he enjoyed it. Ditto for Shwetha, his heroine, whom everybody, from director Vijayakumar to scriptwriter Ajai Kumar, called a natural. A former VJ, Shwetha brimmed with confidence. If so much confidence is being imposed in the film, then half the battle is won.

Fan following

So far, one thought that the Indian movie fan, particularly the South Indian, was a passionate one, going to any extent to show his or her devotion towards his or her matinee idol. MGR, NTR, Rajkumar, Prem Nazir, Mammootty, Mohan Lal and Khushboo have all benefited from the largesse. Some of them have had temples constructed and then dismantled depending upon their performance and subsequent public posture. Our fans are  not alone. Movie buffs in Nepal have also built temples for two of their beloved heroes. However, these temples are an acknowledgement of the social service rendered by the two heroes.

These venerable actors produce films, star in them, rake in the moolah and promptly use it to build hospitals in villages. The two heroes came down to visit the unit of Meghave Meghave. All because a foreign film unit was shooting in strife-ridden Nepal! And director Nagendra Prasad was clueless of the gentlemen’s credos.Though the two Nepali actors — Sinu and Bahadur have acted in the film, the director could only remember the name of one of the Nepali heroes—Vishnu Dev Bhattacharya. However, he hastened to add that he was humbled by the experience. Now, we hope that our fans (and heroes) also learn something from this.