The trailer of Manjunatha Somashekara Reddy’s upcoming film Act 1978 will have you on tenterhooks. A pregnant Yajna Shetty walks into a Government building and holds the office and the people who work there as hostages, after it is revealed that she is a human bomb. Act 1978 also has B Suresha, Pramod Shetty, Sanchari Vijay, Dattanna and Achyuth Kumar among its cast.
The filmmaker, who goes by the acronym Mansore, says that he had been building on this idea in his head for a long time. “It is based on an incident that I witnessed. I have drawn from that experience and it will be a realistic depiction. It is about how the common people have to struggle and fight [the red tape in] our bureaucracy. Do they have the strength to face all the challenges?,” asks the National Award-winning director.
He visualises films as a large canvas and his actors as objects who can make his art come alive on screen. “Visuals have to be strong, and need to leave a huge impact on the viewer. I use my skills as an artist to ensure every character is portrayed as close to reality as possible and with multiple layers, so that someone somewhere will connect with the character on screen,” he says, adding, “Dialogues, too, should be realistic and help build an attachment with the audience. It is within that boundary that I take my creative liberties.”
About its title, Mansore says that the audience will figure out the reason when they watch the film. He also wants to release the film in theatres, and is curious to understand if audiences would be interested in a film without a recognised star cast. “We are not yet confident of people returning to theatres but we want to give it a shot. No matter when a film hits the theatre, there is always a risk factor. Since our film has no stars, we are dependent on audience reviews and word-of mouth publicity,” he adds.
Based on a true story A still from Act 1978 Special Arrangement
Insisting the film is not dark, the director explains his keenness to depict reality on the screen. “Visuals have to be strong impact on the viewer. Since I come from an art background, I see cinema as a larger canvas, where instead of oil paints I have people who become my object of artistic depiction. I also ensure that every character is portrayed as close to reality as possible and with multiple layers so that someone somewhere will connect with what the see on screen. For instance, in Naticharami the character of Gowri (played by Sruthi Hariharan) is depicted in different ways. She is a different person when at home, at work, at the bus stop and so on.”
Mansore prefers to keep the suspense of the reason for the title of Act... . “You can crack it by watching the film.” He is keen to release the film in theatres. “Post lockdown, we are curious to see if people will watch our film, which has no stars. We are not yet confident if they will come into the theatres. But we want to give it a shot. No matter when a film hits the theatre, there is always a risk factor.”
