Director Indrajit Lankesh has a unique style of film making that sets him apart from the rest of his peers in the industry. In accordance with his tag as a 'Star Director', Indrajit launched his new project Love You Alia on Sunday with much fanfare. The film was announced in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Kannada and Cultural Minister, Umashree and Minister for Infrastructure Development, Information and Haj, R Roshan Baig.
As a director who has been in the industry for over a decade, Lankesh has always tried to remain youthful in his subject and approach towards a film and Love You Alia is no different. While the film goes on floors from today, Indrajit talks to City Express and reveals his plans about the film which will be produced under the banner of Magic Cinema. This multistarrer includes Ravichandran, Bhumika Chawla, Chandan, Sangeetha Chauhan and Aditi Acharya among others. "The title Love You Alia itself reflects that it is a youth-centric film and yet it is not just about entertainment. A person who comes to watch a film should leave with a message. I want to bring out that idea in this film. However, I am not here to lecture on moral science. I just want to see the audience happy after watching the film," he explains.
What is interesting is that Indrajit is taking up the challenge of directing a youth-centric film with Ravichandran (a senior actor and director in the Kannada industry) playing the lead along with Bhumika Chawla. "I am associating with Ravichandran who is a filmmaker in his own right and has also had two back-to-back hits recently with Drishya and Paramashiva. So it is a tough task for me to direct such a star."
According to Indrajit, there was no particular incident that prompted him to come up with the story of Love You Alia. "In fact, for this film I had three writers who worked alongside me and we brainstormed together to write this story. But that doesn't mean that I am making a masterpiece. It is an entertaining film with an emotional message," says the director.
Apparently Ravichandran accepted the project after listening to two lines of the story and agreed to give six days in a month for the shoot. "This film will see Ravichandran essaying the role of a gynaecologist for the first time in his career. I will be showcasing him in a completely different light from the characters that he has played till date. Luckily for me, Ravichandran is going through an experimental phase and that will be a plus point for me. "Although he has three films in the making, he has still managed to give me a few of his valuable dates. My shoot will be planned according to his dates and we will complete only his portions first. The remaining days, I will be working with other artistes."
Love You Alia will be Indrajit's eighth film as a director. He says that the best part of filmmaking is catering to the ever-changing audience. "Directors should always keep abreast of the times. After being in the industry for more than a decade, I have gone through several highs and lows because of the changing times."
The style of filmmaking , he says, has to change with these changing trends. Says he, "I can't expect to do what I had done in Aiswharaya and Monalisa and expect people to like it today. More importantly, we have to balance the film in such a way as to cater to the family audience. Though I say it is youth-centric, I have to make a film that can be watched by everybody."
According to him, a film's success is not about a director's perceptions. "What we think would work at that time, might not work with the audience when the film actually releases. The industry keeps changing and one must change to keep pace with it. Even older Hollywood directors still manage to make films for the current generations," he explains.
Love you Alia will be first shot in Bangalore, followed by Chennai, Mumbai, and later even abroad.