There is nothing new in actors, directors or technicians from other States becoming a part of Kannada films. However, the talented Radhakrishna Parthiban acting in a Kannada film is newsworthy.
Parthiban plays an important role in Daada is Back, directed by Santhosh of Gombegala Love (2013), which captivated audience for its realistic and absorbing narrative. Santosh is one of the new breed of filmmakers, who believes in experimentation. His Gombegala Love , was a surprise, not only to audience but also the critics who found the film one of the best efforts from the Kannada film industry in recent times.
Daada is Back is in post-production and will hit the screens in the first week of July. Besides Parthiban, Shravya of Gombegala Love , Achyut Kumar and Arun are also a part of the cast. The film’s audio was released recently and stars, including Parthiban, participated in the event.
When Santhosh talks of his experience of directing Parthiban, he is unstoppable, narrating incident after incident. “You may think I am crazy. Initially I thought to cast Amitabh Bachchan as Daada. The title Daada is Back struck me when I was reading a news paper, which announced the news of return of Sourav Ganguli. Amitabh asked me to wait for two years, but I was in hurry to visualise Daada, who was growing in me by the day. The next option for me was Parthiban,” he says, recalling the genesis of the film. Santosh was “nervous” to approach Parthiban, who is open to new kind of cinema and is part of 60 plus movies in his career spanning 35 glorious years.
“I was apprehensive initially as Parthiban is an actor par-excellence. Being a director, he weighs the character and asks questions when a director approaches him.
He asked me why I wanted him to play Daada. I hesitatingly told him, the character needs somebody who is weighty — both physically and mentally — and communicate through the body language. After the first reading of the script, he smiled and nodded his head, I was relieved,” recalls Santosh. However, on set, all inhibitions evaporated and working with Parthiban was a pleasure, admits Santhosh. When the actor came to Bengaluru, the first thing he did was visit Dr Rajkumar Memorial at the Kanteerava Studios after which he moved to Dr. Vishnuvardhan Samadhi at Abhiman Studio near Kengeri. “Working with Parthiban is like a wonderful journey with a friend, who can understand and vibes with your sensitivity,” says Santosh.
“It also helped that Parthiban is a director himself. He is a director’s actor. Neither did he interfere with my work, nor did he behave like a star. He mingled with everyone and was punctual. He even wrote down his dialogues in Tamil and practised for two hours, before getting ready for the shot. As far as possible he tried to converse in Kannada with the co-stars on the sets,” beams Santosh.
Vaidya, who co-starred with Parthiban is bowled by the simplicity of the “great actor. When he learnt that I will share the screen with him, he came and embraced me and said; ‘let us work together’. This instilled confidence in me,” addsVaidya. According to him, Parthiban is a model for those who want to learn what it means to work as a team with complete involvement.
Remembering Parthiban’s sense of humour, Vaidya says, “When we were shooting at the graveyard in Wilson Garden, the crew tried to wake up those who were sleeping on the gravestones. Parthiban said, ‘don’t disturb them; they have to sleep there permanently one day.’ Parthiban also spent a lot of time with the crew and tried to understand the state of cinema in Kannada.”
During a brief chat with the media Parthiban said “art has no boundaries. It is necessary for Kannada actors to play characters that suits them in Tamil and vice-versa. Unity of culture and art will only bring peace between the neighbouring states.”
Parthiban added that he is a great fan of Rajkumar. “I grew up watching his movies and he is one of the greatest personalities, who influenced me. Had he agreed to enter politics, he would have become the Chief Minister for Karnataka. But he limited himself to art, where his heart was. That was one of his greatest virtues.”
