Appreciation or awards are not enough. Talent has to be endorsed by commercial success if a creative person, especially in cinema has to survive. BM Giriraj is a prime example and remains on the fringes, a fledgling director even after a few films, because Fridays have not been kind to him. With an award winning book to his credit and a solid stage background cinema beckoned. After stomping around Gandhinagar trying to get a producer proved futile, Giri tested the waters by making a short film, ‘Naviladhavaru’. Circulated widely within the industry the film proved to be Giri’s calling card though producers didn’t rush to him. I remember Puneet mentioning the film to me and enquiring about Giri’s antecedents. Since a commercial release was not feasible, Giri took it upon himself to tour the districts and show the film at colleges. A mainstream producer’s mindset is narrow minded, fashioned to scour for scripts tailor made for stars who are mere puppets of their respective fans. You can’t convince him to back anything off the beaten track and understandably so because the stakes are high. Directors can seldom make what they want to. There has been a change though in the recent past with the success of content driven films.
A burgeoning budget can only enhance a film technically but cannot compensate for a weak script. ‘Jatta’ was Giri’s first commercial venture. Again shot on a shoestring budget with very few characters ‘Jatta’, is about a clash of ideologies, principles and beliefs made the industry sit up. Giri later mentioned that the film got him notice, not acceptance. That’s because he did not conform to accepted commercial norms. The film fetched a few awards too. ‘Mythri’ remains the high point in Giri’s career. He was able to convince Malayalam superstar with one narration to take up a role that was pivotal, not central. Malayalam actors realise that the impact is more important than the length of a role. Lal told me he was impressed enough to postpone a couple of films to accommodate Giri. I was witness to him diligently rehearsing his lines between shots. Not wanting to parrot lines he would make sure he learnt the meaning and enunciation. Puneet agreed to play an important role too and the icing was when Ilayaraja readily agreed to score the music. ‘Mythri’ may not have shattered box-office records but won acclaim and enjoyed a decent run. There’s a belief in the industry that directors who make content driven films cannot graduate to handling enterprises with marquee names. This is not entirely untrue because films with superstars are character or image driven rather than depending on the script. Giri’s professional position was status quo, post ‘Mythri’ too.
The industry bigwigs, on popular platforms exhort the public to patronise and encourage Kannada cinema but in reality are sharks that mercilessly gobble up the small fish. A few of them have a stranglehold over theatres on KG road and tighten the noose when small filmmakers request single screens even for a couple of shows. Giri’s latest, ‘Amaravathi’ did not get even one theatre and had to settle for stray shows at multiplexes where the rates are simply unaffordable especially when the film does not cater to popular taste. There are some touching moments but it’s not Giri’s best work in the sense it’s not as focussed as ‘Jatta’ or ‘Mythri’. There are too many characters that distract and some unnecessary sub-plots. Also the smooth flow in a simple scene can be marred by too many shots. The problem with a shoestring budget is that you have to compromise technically and cannot afford professional performers for key roles and it shows. The plot, as long as it sticks to the personal and professional travails of the protagonist is interesting. Achyuth Kumar sheds his theatrical gesticulations and loud dialogue delivery coming up with a finely nuanced performance. His body language is brilliant.
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Giriraj’s ‘Amaravathi’ is as usual honest but definitely not his most competent work. Sensitivity seems to have been sacrificed for sentiments.
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