Avane Srimannarayana (ASN) is one of most wonderful journeys I have taken in my career till now,” says Rakshit Shetty, who wrapped up the shoot for the film on June 4. “Every film I have done so far has been more exciting than the previous one. But ASN will top the list, and will be something special,” he adds. The film, directed by Sachin Ravi, is jointly produced by Pushkar Mallikarjunaiah and HK Prakash. The team plans to release a special teaser on the actor’s birthday on Thursday.
ASN has been one of the most anticipated films since the time the film went on floors, and Rakshit feels this project has been a stepping stone that will take him to the next league. “I am saying this in terms of filmmaking and not as the growth of a star. I am confident about the film, for which we have worked very hard. I have seen the rushes along with the team and I have watched ASN a 100 times while editing. But you never know, it is the audience that decides whether it will work or not. Having said that, whatever the result, I feel ASN has allowed me to grow as a writer, filmmaker, technician and as an actor,” he says.
Rakshit also believes that ASN has given him immense confidence to make the kind of films he wants in future. “If not ASN, I wouldn’t have thought of making a film like Punyakoti now, and that has been a huge development personally for me,” he says.
5 years from now, every regional film will have a market throughout India The new phase in the Kannada film industry, with the movies reaching out to viewers in other languages, is a good sign, he says. ASN will also be dubbed and released in four other languages - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. “I would like to be a part of all kinds of films.
But it’s not that every film is done to reach all kinds of audience. However, a good movie will travel everywhere. Even my upcoming film, 777 Charlie, is a universal subject, which can appeal to everybody, followed by Punyakoti. Cinema itself speaks,” says Rakshit, adding, “Language is just meant for communication.”
Rakshit also feels that five years down the line, every regional film will have a market throughout India. “Some people would like to watch it in the dubbed language, while there are viewers who would want to see the original. It doesn’t lose the essence but their only request for subtitles. The bottom line is that the purpose of making a film is served when it reaches out to as many viewers as possible,” he says.
‘My social media activity will now happen through the team’
Rakshit, who has returned to social media, says the importance of being present on these platform is not for personal life, but for promoting films, keeping in close contact with fans, and to know what’s happening around the world. “I always enjoyed keeping in touch with my fans, but it used to take a lot of time, and somewhere I got so addicted that I started checking every comment popping up, and it used to divert my attention. There have been positive and negative sides to it.
Even before leaving social media sometime ago, I did have a team handling my accounts, but that didn’t stop me from checking it. I wanted to get rid of that addiction, and wanted to give it a break. It has helped. Today, I have a team to handle it, and after a year, I have also realised that I can stay away from it.”
Teaser shows a different shade of Narayana
The latest ASN teaser to be out today gives little information about the film, as the team wants to convey more details in the trailer. “We are currently playing with the concept of Avane Srimannarayana, which we have done in the first teaser as well,” says Rakshit, adding that the latest teaser will show a different shade of Narayana. “The last teaser was about a fraud hero. This one will be about how a fraud hero becomes a hero.”