Kannada actor Upendra’s Home Minister, directed by Sujay K Srihari is set for a theatrical release on April 1. The actor, popularly known as ‘Uppi’ and ‘Real Star’, is known to think out of the box, when it comes to his film, titles, storyline, direction, acting and promotion.
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For Home Minister, he shared a picture of himself in drag and challenged fans to make the image their profile picture. He also created a video featuring himself and his wife, Priyanka, showing him doing household chores while Priyanka relaxed. The video ends with the actor asking his male fans if they are up to accepting this challenge in their homes.
Home Minister, Upendra says is made specifically for women. “They will identify with the characters and the story. The shoot was started even before COVID-19 struck and now the film seems very apt considering what we have lived through.”
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In the film, Upendra’s character works from home, while his journalist wife has to step out for long hours of work. “The husband prefers to dress as a woman. He is one of the girls, interacting and spending time with the women in the apartment block.
The film, Upendra says is a comedy with an unusual ending, for which he credits the director, Sujay K Srihari. Home Minister is Upendra’s first theatrical release post the lockdowns. “We are slowly bouncing back. Films are being screened everywhere and we have seen good footfall in the theatres too.” The two-year hiatus, Upendra says has resulted in films being released together. “Theatres are being crammed with new releases. From the collection point, however, things are soaring. People make the effort to watch a film in a theatre only if they are drawn to the content.”
Upendra will soon be donning the director’s hat again, for an interactive film.
The poster he created for his interactive film
He shared a poster on social media and has asked his fans to come up with the title, storyline, choose the genre and build the characters. “This is an experiment and I want to see how this will end. I have started interacting with fans online and we are building the story. I will be directing it, but fans will help me script the story. This is an effort to make it an interactive experience, for me and the audience. ”
Besides this, he is completing the shoot of R Chandru’s Kabzaa with Kiccha Sudeep.