JOIN USPrashanth Neel and the question of loyalty
One question shook an otherwise smooth interaction of print journalists with the ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ team last week. “Mr Prashanth, you are sold to the Telugu industry. Do you agree with it?” asked a journalist to the director of ‘KGF’ films. Taken aback by the tone of the question, Prashanth shot back, with a wry smile: “Sold? For how much?”
The magnificent response to ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ has made the team the toast of the nation. Neel is seen as the next big name in the Indian film industry. “What did we (Kannada industry) do to deserve him?” asked an overwhelming fan on Twitter.
Riding on the ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ (2019) wave, Neel grabbed two more projects, one with Prabhas (‘Salaar’) and another with NTR Jr, two of the biggest stars of Telugu cinema. Irked Kannada fans called him a “traitor” for forgetting his roots and now and then, Neel’s name began to trend on social media for his shift to the Telugu industry.
In the era of pan-Indian films, one cannot restrict a filmmaker to remain in a single industry. Neel comes across as an ambitious professional enjoying the peak of his career. There is no stopping him and he explained why so, quite sensibly.
“I have chosen projects that are good for my career. I am very selfish, and I didn’t come to the industry (Kannada) to flourish it. I am not big enough to do that. I am here for my bread and butter, I am here to enhance my career,” he said.
A flustered Yash, sitting next to Neel, defended his director. “He is a Kannadiga and he will do films that you will enjoy. It can be in Kannada, Telugu or Hindi. Cinema has no language and we must not restrict an artiste,” he told the reporter.
It was surprising to see the Telugu industry celebrate and welcome Neel after ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ as it’s an industry that has a plethora of filmmakers who do big-budget ‘masala’ films. It need not look for talent outside its territory. So this is a good sign for Neel, who just finished his third film. He is all set to expand his boundaries.
“I have not approached them. They (the Telugu industry) approached me after what I did in ‘KGF: Chapter 1’. I think about my career above everything else. It’s not that I have been sold. I have just got a better offer. A lot of people from India go to the US to enhance their careers. Does that mean all of them have been sold?”
Kannada artistes venturing into other industries isn’t a new phenomenon. S Shyam Prasad, a senior film critic, says affordability is one of the reasons for the trend.
“Soundarya started in Kannada but once she got offers in Telugu, she became a regular in their films. Many Kannada filmmakers couldn’t afford her. The only time she came back to do it in Kannada was when she did ‘Sipayi’ (1996). After almost her career had ended in Telugu, she worked in ‘Apthamithra’ (2004),” he recollects.
The ambitious Ravichandran was once again the man behind bringing Prakash Raj back to Kannada for his dream project ‘Ekangi’ (2002). Raj was a successful multilingual actor by then.
‘KGF’ has inspired many Kannada filmmakers to think big. But the cold fact remains that it is a reasonably smaller industry when compared to Telugu and Tamil. “Is any producer in Kannada ready to bankroll Neel’s next film with a Rs 100-crore?”. It was Hombale Films of the ‘KGF’ franchise who gave him another big-budget project with ‘Salaar’,” notes Shyam.
“Our (Kannada) big-budget films are their micro ones. The gap is huge. Only with ‘KGF’ we can compare our film with other industries. For the same reason, we aren’t able to rope in big heroines from other industries,” he explained. It makes sense as a pan-India project like ‘Kabzaa’, starring Sudeep and Upendra, has Shriya Siran playing one of the leads. Shriya was never part of Sandalwood during her peak, in the late 2000s.
Deepika Padukone, Anushka Shetty, Rashmika Mandanna and many more from Karnataka have settled down well in other industries. It’s not everybody’s ballgame to revel outside their comfort zone. Yogaraj Bhat, one of the top Kannada filmmakers, spent close to two years in Mumbai, planning a Hindi film titled ‘Totaram’ but returned home with no success.
But Neel’s style of working will suit the demands of the Telugu industry, says film critic Kairam Vaashi. “The Telugu audience seems to like both brainless, over-the-top ‘masala’ flicks (like Boyapati Srinu’s ‘Akhanda’) and stylish, filmy-logical ‘mass’ movies (like most of Trivikram’s or SS Rajamouli’s earlier works). Neel can make a film that mixes both great visuals (like Rajamouli) and stylish, tasteful masala stories (like Trivikram),” he reasons.
Fans, who react emotionally, perhaps just expected words of assurance from Neel. Maybe, the over bluntness of the question annoyed Neel, who calmly responded to the row in a television interview later.
“I am a proud Kannadiga. I have plans to make films with Yash and Sriimurali,” he said. Neel is a director with a big vision. He is set to explore bigger markets. Who are we to stop him?