Rishab Shetty became a sensation after the success of Kantara. He has amazed the nation with his latest Kannada film Kantara which became a blockbuster in a short span of time. The actor who also directed the movie received much love and adulation. Now speaking at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) the actor-director addressed pan-India films and his idea of making films.
During a session titled Representing Cultural Diversity and Identifying New Markets, Shetty discussed a few topics with veteran film producer TG Thyagarajan. He also spoke about the importance of telling a hyperlocal story and said that there is no formula for a pan-Indian film.
The actor-director believes the budget of the film doesn’t matter for it to be successful, what is important is film should make a connection with the audience. “Now, the reach of cinema has become limitless. If the content is strong in today’s time, then it can reach any place in the world. The audience doesn’t care whether it is a big-budget film or a small-budget film, all they care about is a connect with a film. When you think that the film should be pan-India and we increase the budget, then at that step itself you are facing a huge loss. I don’t believe in the concept of pan-India films.”
He elaborated, “Producers mislead bhi hote hain – they think a big budget means wider reach which is definitely not true. Now in Kantara, no viewer asked about the budget of the film. They felt a connect with the film, liked the story and watched it. Word-of-mouth is the most inexpensive form of marketing and it contributed to the success of Kantara. Any film can perform well if the audience can connect with the content. I decide the budget of my films on the basis of what the film needs.”
Talking about his idea of making films he said, Rishab said, “I don’t think much about the subject of the film. I even read very less. I was a below-average student in a Kannada medium school and you all are asking me to speak in English so I was wondering if should I speak in English or not? Main sota (sleep) bhi Kannada mein hoon aur khata bhi Kannada mein hoon. Main sab Kannada mein karta hoon. To choose the subject of my film, I observe what is happening in society and around us, what is the political scenario, and what are the discussions going around, and then I take inspiration from that. Yeh sab zyada sochta hoon main aur society se kuch lekar film mein dikhane ki koshish karta hoon.”
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