Director Chandru surely knows the taste of struggle and he also relishes the taste of success that comes after the sourness of internal and external conflict. Today, after five successful films, Chandru is indeed a trustworthy brand. No wonder, a superstar like Upendra has put aside all his other commitments to be a part of the director’s ‘commercial’ venture, Brahma.
The director who started his career with Taj Mahal started with nothing but dreams. “I came to Bangalore with a dream to become a director and with just `50 in my pocket. Soon, I managed to invest around `5 crores for my last film, Charminar. It is definitely, God’s grace,” he said.
The director who is riding high on the success of Charminar has already began the song recording for his next flick. “Brahma is the creator of this Universe. Likewise actor and director Upendra is like Brahma to the Kannada industry. I started with a thought process of how to bring this Brahma on screen, which will be made in two languages - Kannada and Telugu, with a budget of approximately `20 crores,” said Chandru who further added, “Brahma will take us back to 1600 AD, slowly progressing to the present time. It will be more on the lines of Magadheera but not a
remake."
Chandru, who is known for his realistic films, has surprised some in the industry by going for a period film. “The realistic stroke has become my USP and is evident in all my films. Brahma will be a complete commercial film, which will have my touch and Upendra’s style. We will shoot in Bangalore for 20 days and later move abroad. Upendra has postponed all his films and is geared up to be a part of Brahma. I have to give my best now,” said Chandru.
Upendra will don a different avatar in the film and Chandru is trying to bring a contrast from the actor’s previous films. Chandru is confident and it is evident when he says, “This film will be a milestone for me and a distinctive film for Uppi. For instance, Uppi is also known for his dialogue delivery in his movies. But this film will see him talking less. This is just one example.”
The director has roped in Gurukiran to score the music for Brahma. “The combination of Uppi and Gurukiran has worked well. I wanted to maintain the same tempo and so we got Guru for this movie too,” he said.
Apparently Chandru had almost roped in Southern actress Trisha to Sandalwood through this film but it could not materialise. “We had almost finalised Trisha but at the last moment her manager called us to tell that she is currently not keen to be a part of Kannada films. The search is on and we are now planning to get somebody from Sandalwood itself.
We will be making the announcement as and when we finalise,” said Chandru.
While Uppi is a well known director himself, will this film have the star helping Chandru behind the camera? “I am a big fan of Upendra’s direction. He has a creative mind but I have also realised that the actor does not interfere in other's work, which I observed during the recent photo shoot. I am clear about how I want to bring out Upendra on screen and I will definitely not allow anybody else to touch my product as it is purely my baby,” he said.