Director Raghu Shivamogga is excited about his debut feature film Churikatte, which will release on January 26.
“The story is set in Malnad and talks about the timber mafia,” explains Raghu, who started his career with Prakash Belawadi, before directing over 20 tele-films for B Suresh.
Raghu came into the spotlight with his mega serial Madarangi , which ran for over 600 episodes. And expectations are high for Churikatte as his short film Chowkabaara won the State Award in the short film category. The director is waiting for D-day and says,“My journey and training of all these years has come into play in Churikatte .”
The film stars Achyut Kumar, Sharath Lohitashwa and Manjunath Hegde in prominent roles.
Sharath and Achyut were also part of Raghus’ Chowkabaara . “We have known each other for over eight years. When I approached them for Chowkabaara , they worked for free as we did not have funds. Neenasam Satish produced the film and Achyuth also helped financially,” recalls the young director. “Chowkabara was a free package as everyone was a friend”.
About casting Praveen Tej and Prerana in the lead, Raghu states, “Every director likes to work with big actors. Getting a huge star to act in our film was beyond our budget. We wanted a young boy to play the lead role. He is a college graduate. Praveen is also from Malnad and could connect with the story and its subtleties easily. Prerana looks like a girl from Malnad and is crucial to the story. She is an intelligent actor and has an innocence in her approach that suits the role.”
Dattanna, Pramod Shetty and Vivek Shetty also act in Churikatte , which will have English subtitles, as Raghu believes Bengaluru is not home to just Kannadigas, but to people of all languages. “I can say it with pride that in the last four years non-Kannadigas have started watching our films as there are new ideas, talents, and approaches. Subtitles are added for them, so they can understand and enjoy the film.”
What newness can we look forward to in Churikatte ? He replies, “This is a film with a simple story and we have tried to narrate a realistic story cinematically – through acting, presentation and story. I know people will connect with the story.”
He explains why cinema cannot be compared to serials.
“Serials can be watched while cooking or eating... If you miss something, you can always catch it up with repeat shows. But, cinema not like that. People brave traffic, invest money and time to watch a film to experience cinema. It is our responsibility as makers have to satisfy them. If the audience feel their effort was worth it, then I will know that the film and the team have won.”
