Kannada film 6-5=2, helmed by first-time director KS Ashoka was released in November 2013 without a single promotional activity! Yet the film did well and this is what prompted producer and director Bharath Jain to buy the film rights from Ashoka and remake it in Hindi with the same name. The Hindi 6-5=2 will release this week.
The film has only got bigger and better with Bharath promoting his film nationwide. The director who took the bold step of directing and producing a Kannada film in Bollywood says, “When Ashoka directed the film, he made it for the Karnataka audience on a shoestring budget. Since he was only the director, he didn’t have the liberty to invest more money in the promos of the film. It was a stroke of luck that the movie did well,” says Bharath. “When a film is made for the national audience, you have to take that extra step to promote it in every city. I am promoting this film as a product. At the end of the day, it has become my story and I want to reach out to as many people as possible. Bharath, before this outing as director, has produced five films and distributed over 90 movies. He also owns the well-known music company Jhankar Music.
6-5=2 is a horror thriller, which revolves around a fatal trekking incident. This film was supposed to be the first film based on the style of “found footage” in Kannada. Bharath took up the film because he could relate to the subject. “I have gone through a similar incident in real life when I had gone for trekking with my friends and that is why it inspired me and I thought, ‘why not make it in Hindi and reach out to a national audience?’” he says.
Exploring this new genre of horror in Hindi, Bharath wanted to stick to the original title. “There is a spark in the title, which comes through in any language. I am in Mumbai to overlook the distribution and am quite excited at the public’s reaction to the huge hoarding of the film.They are definitely curious about its subject. This has made me realise that if the content is good, even if you are investing crores in the film, it will not be wasted,” says the first-time director who is releasing his film in 350 theatres. “The trailer which was shown in 340 theatres did all the magic and thankfully Fox came forward to release my film. Finally, my dreams of turning director have been fulfilled with 6-5=2,” he signs off.
The film stars Prashantt Guptha, Niharica Raizada, Ashrut Jain, Gaurav Kothari, Gaurav Paswalla and Disha Kapoor in lead roles with cinematography by Sathya Hegde.
While he is travelling all over the country in the run-up to the release, Bharath next plans to take Kannada director Nagashekar to Bollywood. “My next project has already been fixed and it is a love story. I wanted to work with Nagashekar because we make a good combination as producer and director. Secondly, he has had consistent hits.Though it is at a very early stage, Bharath wants to do this film with Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan and also wants to rope in Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini in important roles. Interestingly, I heard from Nagashekar that Puneeth Rajkumar is keen to take up the same subject in Kannada, while the director plans to go ahead with the same subject with Surya in Tamil,” he says. — A Sharadhaa