Ramesh Bhat’s name has always been synonymous with that of the late actor Shankar Nag, who was his mentor and guide. He started acting with Shankar’s theatre group Sanket and also forayed into every field of acting and filmmaking because of his mentor’s encouragement. Now, he is known as one of the most powerful actors the Kannada film industry has. He has experimented with varied roles and characters in films like Minchina Ota, Nodi Swamy Navu Irodu Heege , and who can forget his portrayal of Inspector Rao in the critically acclaimed Accident ?
Ramesh is equally at ease with direction. He also assisted Shankar in many of his films as a director and also for the famed TV series Malgudi Days.
The renowned actor reveals his adventure during his directorial debut, Parameshi Prema Prasanga , and why he did not want to pursue direction further after Shankar’s demise:
“I always worked with Shankar. My journey started when he created a team to start theatrical activities in Bengaluru in the 70s. Working with him meant being involved in everything – theatre, backstage, ad-films, films, scriptwriting and even play reading. We had to do anything related to art and an artiste. He started his own film team and made films like Minchina ota, Gita, Januma janumada anubandha , Nodi Swamy Navu Irodu Hege.
We first staged Nodi Swamy Navu Irodu Hege as a play. It became so successful on stage that Shankar decided to make it into a film and asked me to produce it. With his help, I was able to achieve this feat. He directed the play and the film version and made me the associate director for the movie. Next came Parameshi Prema Prasanga in 84-85. I was the producer and director. Shankar was busy with many film projects and also Malgudi Days at that time.
As I was trained in every aspect for years, nothing came as a shock or a challenge to me when I sat in the director’s chair. The only struggle I faced was that I had to direct the film as well as act in it. So when I would be acting someone would interrupt me and remind me that an artiste had to be paid, another had not arrived or they were short of something and things like that.
Then I was also worried about rushing to choose the next location and pay the advance for the next day’s shoot. These tiny irritations bugged me, but besides these, I was not harassed by anything major, while directing the film.
Handling actors was also not a challenge as most of them were from our theatre group – Arundhati, CR Simha.
No one had any starry airs, nor was I under the pressure of treating them well. It felt more like working with my friends and family. I also chose the very home in which I was living in as the protagonist’s home. So, a major location issue was solved. As the storyline was all about a middle class family, we chose simple and easily available locations for the shoot, in and around Bengaluru.
The film is a small story about what happens in a tiny family. So we avoided huge sets with bright-coloured backgrounds. All we needed was a tiny kitchen with pots and pans in which the woman cooks uppittu and seasons it with mustard. It also needed a room, with a wet nappy strewn on the floor while a toddler roams around the house naked. Then we needed a bus stop, a small office, and a Luna for the hero to commute.
The only challenge I faced was arranging middle class clothes. I did not want clothes that looked fresh and starched, but those that looked worn, used and lived in. So, there was no heavy burden on finances either.
Shankar himself wrote the screenplay for me. He told me where, when and how I should shoot, what angle it should be — the works. So I did not find direction difficult at all, just that I did not pursue it after he left us.
Today, I feel, had I pursued direction, I might have fared better professionally. But I did not. All of us were involved with Malgudi Days for almost two years. We made it in Hindi and Kannada, which was a challenge for me as I did not know Hindi. This went on till ‘89. Soon after I made another film, for which Shankar himself was the hero. By then he was a star. One day he came to Sanket and told all of us to make one film in which he would act. He committed himself to act in our new projects from evening six till the wee hours of morning. He was already making films like Sangliana .
Today, I feel, had I pursued direction, I might have fared bettersionally. But I did not.
So we all discussed and decided we would make a team of three each so we would not tire him out. That way all of us would get a chance to work in another film project. But, as soon as we were set, we lost him in an accident.
I felt totally lost. My backbone had gone. I took almost a year-and-a-half to two years to just get out of the shock. And at that time, I felt acting was easy as I had to only go to the set with an empty head and pocket and act. There was no worry about finances as an actor. So, I took it up and was also loaded with offers that kept me busy for years and never ever thought of going back to direction again.
This column chronicles a filmmaker’s first efforts
As told to Shilpa Sebastian R
