Popular Kannada filmmaker TS Nagabharana is quite satisfied with the acceptance of regional cinema globally but hopes they get as much endorsement at home. “The success rate of regional cinema is growing. Regional cinema is now competing with mainstream movies but it is still film festivals like BRICS, which play up our relevance,” he told us on the sidelines of a meeting.
A popular Kannada filmmaker, Nagabharana has straddled both parallel and mainstream cinema. Also a writer and an actor, he is known for his movies Santha Shishunala Sharifa (1990), Accident (1984), and Aasphota (1988). A founder of a theatre group called Benaka, he has in total nine National Awards and 14 State Awards to his credit. He has also received Filmfare awards for Aasphota, Mysore Mallige and Janumada Jodi.
The Kannada filmmaker, who is popularly known as the pioneer of the parallel cinema in the Indian film industry, calls himself a theatre person. After spending 18 years on stage, he believes that theatre is the best place to learn the real nuances of acting. “Not only that, you learn respecting the craft. That is why you have great actors like Naseeruddin Shah and Nawazuddin Siddiqui today. My actual film direction journey started in the year 1979, when my films started getting recognition nationwide. I received two national awards in the year 1979, one was for script writing and another was for direction.”
Born and brought up in Karnataka, Nagabharana decided to be a filmmaker as a child. An ardent reader of English literature, in his early days he worked backstage as a lighting man and as an assistant director in theatre. The nine-time national award winner, who was a BRICS juror this time, is currently working on a new project called the 12th Century Saint, which will be ready to release in three months. This is the story of Allama Prabhu, a 12th century mystic.
Asked to focus on new age cinema, the director said, “It is a digital era and regional cinema is facing a lot of challenges. It’s only the content of the film, which will help the director to push it further. The content of any story is like its ornament, which touches the heart and compels the audience to think.”