Actor Srinath created a niche for himself as a romantic hero of the Kannada cinema on screen, till of course, Manasa Sarovara (1982) happened. In the film, Srinath plays Dr Anand, a psychiatrist. “I did not need to prepare for the role at all. Puttannaji promised that he would show me in a different avatar on screen.”
The legendary director wanted Srinath to express his personality in his walk, dialogue delivery and expression. “I surrendered completely to his genius. He was my teacher and I followed his instructions.”
He would make me repeat myself over and over, till real frustration and anger or weariness showed in my voice, face and body language. Though I would be drained, he would keep challenging me every step of the way. I accepted them with humility.”
With Puttanna and the crew on the sets of the film | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
When the shooting was complete, Srinath says Puttanna hugged him saying ‘you have done your best, you will reap the fruits of this labour. I cannot promise the results by the audience or the box office’. “Look at the irony, even today people talk about my role as Dr Anand. The credit goes to Puttanaji . Right from the muhurat to the last day, he pushed me to my limit.”
The muhurat shot, is seared into Srinath’s memory. “ Puttannaji asked me to walk into the house in a way I had never walked before. I had not even thought or practised it. I did not want to let myself or him down. I confidently told him, ‘of course, I have worked it all out’. For a few seconds I was blank, then suddenly I recalled a famous orthopaedic surgeon. He was a good friend of ours and walked like a swan. I mimicked that walk. I had not even taken five steps, when Puttannaji came running from behind and hugged me and said, ‘that is exactly who and what I had in mind for your character’.”
The climax scene, before the song ‘Neene Saakida Gini’ called for Srinath to laugh and cry simultaneously. “Puttannaji made me take my spot and asked me to laugh and cry. After I had done this a few times, he asked, ‘Is this all you can give me?’ I replied: ‘Puttannaji, this is not a take, I am rehearsing’.”
Puttanna was miffed and called Srinath a take artiste. “He said, ‘This is my fate. What can I say? You are the hero, you are the actor...’ Suddenly He called BS Basavaraj, the cinematographer and asked him to place his camera in a particular spot asking him how much reel he had left. Basavaraj said he had around 180 feet of reel left. Those days each roll was around 400 feet in length.”
The director shouted action and Srinath started went about laughing and crying. “I was terrified of stopping before he said cut. I continued crying and laughing all the while glancing stealthily at Puttannaji, who ignored me. He sat calmly, chewing beetle leaf. This went on for some time.”
After a while, Srinath says he was tired, his lungs hurt, his vocal chords burned, and he was frustrated. “That was when I screamed, cried and laughed with all that was in me. Puttannaji stopped and looked at me. And at that moment Basavaraj bent towards Puttannaji to say he had run out of reel. Puttannaji said ‘Cut’ and ran towards me. He hugged me saying he got what he wanted.”
With the master craftsman, Puttanna
Describing it as Puttanna’s style, Srinath says, “He wanted us to bring out real emotions on screen. Today, I am grateful to him for Masana Sarovara and Shubha Mangala. It was only when I saw the scene while dubbing did I realized what he had got out of me. The scene still gives me goose-bumps. All he asked was, ‘Are you happy? I did not want you to act. I waited for you to get the real pain and waited for you to tire yourself out for this shot’.”
Srinath credits Puttanna with not only directing him in films, but also in life. “I have learned a lot from him. Even today, his words guide me. and I am eternally grateful to the man and his vision. He knew how to tap into the artiste buried deep within each one of us.”
