Ready to screen: A documentary on Bharathi

Directed by actor Aniruddha, the film chronicles the life of a famous star who lit up the screen in five languages

Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, the yesteryear star, believes in destiny. She never had tinsel town dreams yet became a huge star in Kannada cinema. Apart from starring in over 100 Kannada films between the 1970s and 90s, she did noteworthy films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.

The 71-year-old was surprised when seasoned actor and her son-in-law Aniruddha Jatkar proposed an idea for a documentary on her life. "I never wanted to chronicle my life in any manner. The late journalist RG Vijayasarthy was keen on writing my biography," she tells Showtime.

Talking about her journey showcased in the film, Bharathi says God always made her ready for her all stages of life. "From a young age, I learnt music and dance. I was keen on learning new languages. So when I entered films, I was fully prepared. All I had to do was to diligently play my characters and win the hearts of the audience," she says.

Aniruddha promises the documentary to be as colourful and entertaining as Bharathi's characters in films. "There is a strong belief that documentaries are dry and educative. This one will be entertaining. I have focused on how she overcame several challenges. The film is also an important document in Kannada cinema's history," he explains.

He remembers an incident that gave birth to the documentary 'Baale Bangara'. "One day, a woman, who was a fan of amma (Bharathi), met her with her child. She introduced amma (Bharathi) to her child as Vishnuvardhan's wife. I felt that kind of introduction is incomplete. She was a huge star when appa (Vishnuvardhan) entered the industry. That's when I felt the current and the next generation must know about her achievements," he recollects.

As part of the preparations, Aniruddha watched 110 films of Bharathi and chose important scenes. A three-minute trailer of the documentary on YouTube shows stalwarts like Anant Nag, Shivaram, Shivarajkumar and Mohanlal reminiscing about Bharathi.

"Her entire journey, right from her childhood to education to her personal and professional lives are covered in the film. So you will also see many of her relatives and friends talking about her," he says.

Editing was Aniruddha's biggest challenge. "This is an interview-based documentary. So the duration of the final audio was about five and a half hours. I had to trim it and add movie stills and scenes suitably. I started work three years ago. The pandemic also became a hurdle. In such an illustrious career, everything feels important. So it was tough to leave out certain aspects," he explains.

The two and a half hours documentary is censored and ready for an OTT release. "For those who grew up watching her films, this is trip back to a significant era of Kannada cinema. Stardom doesn't come easy and her journey will inspire people," he says.