'I stay within my comfort zone'

During the making of Sakkare, the leading actress Deepa Sannidhi came on the sets with a fractured leg, sending everyone into a tizzy.

Director Abhay Simha informed everyone that Deepa had broken her leg. It was only later that the duo revealed that it was a prank and that the broken leg was required for her character in the movie. Talking to Metrolife about it, director Abhay Simha says that there were many light moments like this on the sets of Sakkare. “The title means sugar or sweet. This is a light-hearted love story with humour that is not crass.

It is healthy entertainment. At the same time, the film talks about the day-to-day difficulties that people face. There are two dimensions to the story. One is the hero’s point of view and the other is the heroine’s. So Deepa has an equal opportunity to perform in the movie and she has done justice to her role. In most parts of the film, she has to have the cast on her leg as her character demanded it. She did it sportingly and cooperated with us. Each day, she would come on the sets and patiently wait for the bandage to be put on and then shoot. The first day was fun as we wanted to surprise the crew,” he adds.

The movie is a romantic-comedy that also stars Ganesh in the lead. It is Abhay’s third film, a change after the serious subject he has dealt with in Gubbachigalu and Shikari.
   “There is no particular reason for the change. Each time I make a film, it is the script that I am thrilled about first. I had written about seven to eight stories and of them all, I felt that Sakkare had the strongest storyline, which happened to be about love. I approached the producers (B Suresh and Shylaja Nag) and narrated quite a few scripts to them, but they also liked this particular one and that’s why we went ahead with it,” he says.

Moreover, Abhay says that he wanted to show the audience that he is capable of making even a commercial entertainer. “I didn’t want to be typecast in a particular genre. The transition from being a serious film-maker to a commercial one was something I enjoyed. Though, I call this a commercial movie, we don’t have any item songs or mass fights. Yet, we have a good story, a strong script and a clean film to back us with,” he says. Abhay goes on to add, “I don’t believe in doing movies with violence and double-meaning dialogues as it doesn’t suit my sensibilities. When I write scripts, I stay within my comfort zone.”

One wonders why Abhay, who directed Mammootty in Shikari, cast Ganesh in the new film. “He is a huge star in his own right. Ganesh and I have worked under the same banner in different films and it was comfortable for both of us. Of course, I cast him in Sakkare only because he fit the bill,” he says. Plus, with Ganesh having his own on-screen image, Abhay says that it worked to his benefit. “Ganesh has a strong romantic hero image and I used this to my advantage as it suits the character of the protagonist as well,” he adds.  

The film’s highlight is its narration which was a challenge for Abhay. He says, “Since I have two dimensions to the story, the scenes where I had to connect both were very tricky to handle and I had to achieve it without confusing the audience. All in all, the movie is a sincere effort and I hope that the audience will like it.”