<p>Rama Rama Re’, a film without a producer, hit the screens last week with little fuss. But it soon had celebrities from the Kannada film industry endorsing it. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The plot follows a convict on death row who has escaped from prison. His journey and that of others he meets along the way makes for a realistic yet satirical narrative. <br /><br />Director D Satya Prakash, who has to his credit the short film ‘Jayanagara 4th Block’, talks to Chetana Divya Vasudev about its making .<br /><br />Tell us about yourself.<br /><br />Back in my school days, my friends and I often wrote and presented 20-minute skits. I also acted in dramas my grandfather directed. Much later, I worked for nearly a decade with T S Nagabharana. I worked on ‘Nam Yejamanaru’ as assistant director and several other scripts that never got made into films.<br /><br />What about your own films?<br /><br />I made ‘Jayanagara 4th Block’ in 2013. A year before that, I came across this episode in the ‘Bhagavat Gita’ between Dronacharya and his friend. And I immediately wanted to make a film about death. I spent a couple of years on the screenplay of ‘Rama Rama Re’.<br /><br />Most of your cast has a theatre background...<br /><br />It’s very difficult to make a film without a producer, especially because our location was near Belagavi, at least 8 km removed from basic facilities. So I decided to cast newcomers, and those from a theatre background have some acting experience. I also used to follow theatre closely, so I was familiar with most of their work.<br /><br />You’ve introduced humour, despite the serious theme...<br /><br />With no celebrity in the cast, I was worried that the film wouldn’t click. Treating the serious theme with a certain lightness seemed the way to go.<br /><br />An interesting titbit...<br /><br />Nataraj and Dharmanna (who play the protagonist Sandal Raja and Dharma, one half of an eloping couple) are childhood friends of mine and were with me when I realised I wouldn’t be able to get a producer. So we decided we would see if either of them could pull off the protagonist’s role. The character has long hair and beard. So for a full year, before we finalised on Nata (Nataraj), both artistes sported long beards.<br /><br />Your influences.<br /><br />I hardly watch any films; I read a lot — everything from newspaper to novels. I love novels by Beechi and Poornachandra Tejaswi for their satire and humour; I enjoy G S Shivarudrappa’s poetry and Vasudhendra’s short stories.<br /><br />Sudeep has joined the list of celebrities praising the film...<br /><br />Dhananjaya, Rakshit Shetty, Sruthi Hariharan and Ganesh are also among them. It’s very heartening.</p>
<p>Rama Rama Re’, a film without a producer, hit the screens last week with little fuss. But it soon had celebrities from the Kannada film industry endorsing it. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The plot follows a convict on death row who has escaped from prison. His journey and that of others he meets along the way makes for a realistic yet satirical narrative. <br /><br />Director D Satya Prakash, who has to his credit the short film ‘Jayanagara 4th Block’, talks to Chetana Divya Vasudev about its making .<br /><br />Tell us about yourself.<br /><br />Back in my school days, my friends and I often wrote and presented 20-minute skits. I also acted in dramas my grandfather directed. Much later, I worked for nearly a decade with T S Nagabharana. I worked on ‘Nam Yejamanaru’ as assistant director and several other scripts that never got made into films.<br /><br />What about your own films?<br /><br />I made ‘Jayanagara 4th Block’ in 2013. A year before that, I came across this episode in the ‘Bhagavat Gita’ between Dronacharya and his friend. And I immediately wanted to make a film about death. I spent a couple of years on the screenplay of ‘Rama Rama Re’.<br /><br />Most of your cast has a theatre background...<br /><br />It’s very difficult to make a film without a producer, especially because our location was near Belagavi, at least 8 km removed from basic facilities. So I decided to cast newcomers, and those from a theatre background have some acting experience. I also used to follow theatre closely, so I was familiar with most of their work.<br /><br />You’ve introduced humour, despite the serious theme...<br /><br />With no celebrity in the cast, I was worried that the film wouldn’t click. Treating the serious theme with a certain lightness seemed the way to go.<br /><br />An interesting titbit...<br /><br />Nataraj and Dharmanna (who play the protagonist Sandal Raja and Dharma, one half of an eloping couple) are childhood friends of mine and were with me when I realised I wouldn’t be able to get a producer. So we decided we would see if either of them could pull off the protagonist’s role. The character has long hair and beard. So for a full year, before we finalised on Nata (Nataraj), both artistes sported long beards.<br /><br />Your influences.<br /><br />I hardly watch any films; I read a lot — everything from newspaper to novels. I love novels by Beechi and Poornachandra Tejaswi for their satire and humour; I enjoy G S Shivarudrappa’s poetry and Vasudhendra’s short stories.<br /><br />Sudeep has joined the list of celebrities praising the film...<br /><br />Dhananjaya, Rakshit Shetty, Sruthi Hariharan and Ganesh are also among them. It’s very heartening.</p>
