Film-maker Venkat Bharadwaj shot to fame with the Kannada film Kempirve. The film, which featured award-winning actor Dattanna also featured Sayaji Shinde in a pivotal role. The film went on to win the Karnataka State Film Award in the best screenplay category.
Now Venkat is back with another film, this time in Tamil. Titled Unarvu and with the tagline A Game On a Human Brain, it features the popular Tamil actor Suman, who will be seen in the role of Chief Minister. That is not all, with Unarvu , Venkat also becomes an actor.
Venkat’s first film was A Day In The City . The film spoke about water issues, “which we are facing today, especially in Chennai and Bengaluru. It was a full-length feature film and a mix of Kannada and English. It was screened in many film festivals. It was Kempirve that brought me recognition on the national level. It was a film targeted at senior citizens and is about the land Mafia,” shares Venkat, who then felt that Unarvu would be better if made in Tamil.
Why not Kannada? “I am born and brought up here. My father, CV Shivashankar, was a passionate filmmaker and a winner of the Puttanna Kanagal Award. Because of my exposure in both Kannada and Tamil films, I am comfortable working in both languages. I dream of my films reaching a global audience as I mostly deal with issues that you and me can connect to easily.”
Unlike other films, Venkat claims that there will be no hero or heroine in Unravu. Instead it will have six main characters, one of which is played by the director himself. “People will connect with the film, the emotional games that will be played out on screen. Yet, it will be an entertainer with a song for every emotion from love to pathos.” Venkat adds that the music for Unarvu has been composed by Nakul Abhyankar, a student of AR Rahman.
The movie, he adds, will be released on July 19 in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and few theatres in Mumbai, besides Malaysia, Singapore and Columbo. “There will be English subtitles.”
Seeing cinema from close quarters since childhood was one reason why Venkat postponed his foray into this world. “When I was younger, I felt the time was not right for me to get into this field. I have seen a lot of hardships. Our kitchen was affected and my mother took on most of the burden.” Venkat completed his engineering and worked in an IT company. “I sold banking solutions and have travelled across 72 countries. Yet, my heart was in films and after years, I gave it all up. I feel I can afford to take chances now.”
About the changes he has seen in the industry since his father’s time, he says, “every thing is digital today. I think this generation is blessed to have this kind of technology at their fingertips. The results are instant. During my father’s days, there was the negative that had to go to a lab and in the evenings the crew would sit and watch the rushes. It was a huge process. Today you can see it instantly on the monitor.”
Venkat is on cloud nine as Unarvu’s audio was released by drummer, Sivamani. David John is the DOP and Shekar Jairam is the producers with Sarita Omprakash, Nivedita Prabhu, Purushottam as the co-producers.
Will he be open to acting more in the future? “Cinema is a dynamic field. You can not say you want to just act or direct. It is a field that draws you in completely and you get lost in this beautiful world of creations, narrations and depiction.”
Below is the link to the film’s teaser.
