The rise and rise of Hombale Films

Vijay Kiragandur

Minutes after Hombale Films announced its 11th project ‘Kantara’ two weeks ago, a film buff posted this on Twitter: Hombale, trending like a king, as always.

In a star-driven industry, a production house with a huge following is a rarity. But Hombale Films, founded by Vijay Kiragandur, touched unprecedented heights in the last decade. By adapting to changing times, it delivered two (‘Raajakumara’ & ‘KGF: Chapter 1’) of Kannada film industry’s biggest hits of all time.

The young crowd calls it the future of Sandalwood. So naturally, every move by the banner generates great buzz on social media. It backs stories (‘Raajakumara’ & ‘Yuvarathnaa’) rooted in the local milieu and caters to the common man. It also accommodates a sea of Kannada talent, which explains its strong connection with the family audience.

The financial success of ‘KGF’ enabled Hombale to push its purse limit and collaborate with Prabhas, who is one of the biggest pan-Indian stars. It’s evident that driven by a disciplined team known for its strategic planning, Hombale Films has found a way to maximise the reach of its content. Today, it has tie-ups with popular banners from other industries.

This is a giant leap for a production house that began on a miserable note seven years ago. ‘Ninnindale’, the Puneeth Rajkumar-starrer which carried massive hype, was a disaster. Lavish visuals alone will not guarantee success. Vijay vowed not to repeat the mistake.

Associating with Yash, who is known to have a sharp sense of selecting the right films, was a positive development. “For our second film, we first zeroed in on Yash. He went through a couple of scripts and picked the one which became ‘Masterpiece’ (2017),” Vijay tells Showtime. ‘Masterpiece’, despite its shortcomings, was a fun commercial film that became a hit.

The coming together of Puneeth and Santhosh Ananddram for ‘Raajakumara’ created ripples in the industry. The actor’s previous three films ‘Rana Vikrama’ (2015), ‘Chakravyuha’ (2016) and ‘Doddmane Hudga’ (2016) had flattered to deceive. The directors were only enamoured by the actor’s ‘Power Star’ image.

Santhosh did a unique thing by focusing on the performer in Puneeth and wrote an emotional film with little emphasis on bravado. “We knew that it wasn’t going to be a typical ‘mass’ film. We wanted to try something different for Puneeth,” reveals Vijay.

One aspect that gave Vijay confidence was the film’s message. “I felt it was a socially relevant film. We were proud that we were making a classy Puneeth film with powerful dialogues and melodious songs,” he says.

Critics weren’t entirely convinced with the film. However, can anybody question success? ‘Raajakumara’, as per reports, went on to collect a whopping Rs 75 crore at the box office.

Hombale then moved to its biggest project yet. Vijay remembers being slightly perplexed at his first meeting with Prashanth Neel. “As Prashanth narrated the story, I couldn’t visualise it because nobody had thought of an idea like that,” he says.

When the major footage of ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ was ready, the entire team was excited. “Prashanth had delivered what he had promised,” says Vijay. Hombale planned to release the film in all major southern languages before insistence from Yash made ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ a pan-India movie. “After watching the final version, Yash felt it would work in Hindi as well. We trusted him,” says Vijay.

The rest, as they say, is history. The technically brilliant and enormously-mounted film gave rise to the belief that a Kannada film can transcend regional boundaries.

“The film is our biggest step yet in becoming a powerhouse production house,” says Vijay. “Now, before taking a single step, we give great emphasis to planning. Today, we have a database of important journalists, influencers, and YouTube film analysts. We give them timely information about our projects and we stay in constant touch with our fans on social media,” he explains.

The pandemic has been a boon and bane, feels Vijay. Hombale has been on a signing spree, announcing projects with highly-acclaimed filmmakers like Pawan Kumar (‘Dvitva’), Rakshit Shetty (‘Richard Anthony’), and Rishab Shetty (‘Kantara’).

“There is a heightened demand for content today. Kannada industry’s frequency of delivering films should go up. So we used the free time to lock projects,” he offers. The signings could be a masterstroke as these filmmakers’ world cinema acumen could impress the OTT crowd.

On the flip side, the dreaded virus has stalled its biggest release. Agitated fans, with hashtags as nasty as #wakeupHombale’, are relentlessly demanding clarity on the release of ‘KGF: Chapter 2’.

“We are definitely stressed about it (film's delay). The pandemic’s uncertainty is our biggest challenge. We don’t want to compromise on the reach of ‘KGF: Chapter 2’. Not to forget, there are other big films lined-up as well,” he says.

It also upset Vijay that ‘Yuvarathnaa’ couldn’t stay long in theatres. “We would have loved the film to run for another 10 days at least. But the second wave killed our chances. From the producer’s point of view, opting to go to OTT felt like the best option.”

Kannada film fans were irked when Hombale teamed up with Prabhas for ‘Salaar’. “Our priority will be Kannada but the best way to grow is by exploring many opportunities. You have to always think big,” he says.

Vijay wants Hombale to leave a rich legacy. “It’s too early to think about it but Hombale will always strive for quality,” he signs off.