A Harsha believes in entertainment and emotion with a little dose of social message in his films. The Sandalwood maker, known for 'Vedha' (Kannada), awaits the release of Gopichand's 'Bhimaa' this March 8.
In this interview, the filmmaker talks about his strong-willed beliefs as a director. He says that 'Bhimaa' is the first time he has blended a semi-fantasy element with entertainment.
A good storyline is extraordinary for at least 20 minutes. When you stretch it to 2.5 hours, the challenge arises. It is hard to make it gripping. To develop 'Bhimaa', I relied on the reverse screenplay technique. The narrative is non-linear. The audience are very intelligent these days; they can make the right guesses if the story is regular. If they find even a single scene unnecessary or slow-paced, they peek at their smartphone. They can't tolerate even a 2-minute lag. With 'Bhimaa', I have taken enough care to balance a variety of elements.
When the hero is gutsy and upright, you expect him to show rage. My hero, more than a strict and violent cop, is emotional. The story of 'Bhimaa' is set in the Parasurama Kshetra. 'Bhimaa' was shot only in Telugu. The film was completed on a planned budget and everything was spent rationally. The producer is the supreme pillar without whom there can be no project. My films like 'Bhajarangi 2' and 'Vedha' were completed on surprisingly tight budgets.
Gopichand is a wonderful, well-built artist who can mix rage and smile. He is a marvellous performer with a keen body language. I come from a choreography background. I attach a lot of importance to the body language of my heroes.
On set, I am always relaxed. And my focus is on extracting the best from my artists. No filmmaker is free of pressure while working with an actor with a previous body of work. 'Vedha' was a suspenseful village-based drama. On the other hand, 'Bhimaa' is an intense semi-fantasy.
I have known cinematographer Swamy J Gowda for many years now. The cinematographer has to be the right choice because he is the first technician to see your vision. Ravi Basrur was my friend even before he became a music director. We are going to release 'The Range of Bhimaa', a 2-minute audio clip a day before the film's release.
I want to reiterate that 'Bhimaa' has nothing to do with 'Akhanda'. The comparisons have arisen because of the Shiva element and the Aghoras. Beyond that, there are no similarities.
