Chethan Kumar is a director of films with mass appeal. He wholeheartedly believes in this medium and likes to stick to the basics of commercial formula.
“If cinema is meant to be made for people, a director has to bring the maximum viewers to theatres. For this, we rely on the mass crowd. If the buzz is good, we will have the family audience entering the second week, followed with the ‘intellectual’ viewers.
"In my opinion, it’s a commercial entertainer that attracts all kinds of audience,” says Chethan Kumar, as he talks about his upcoming release, Bharaate.
The film, which is slated for October 18 release, has him teaming up with actor Sriimurali for the first time, along with Sreeleela, who is paired opposite the Roaring Star.
The action-packed family entertainer marks the first productional venture of Suprith, and consists of a huge star cast, numbering up to 44 well-known artistes.
Chethan, who made his debut with Bahaddhur, followed it with Bhajari, both starring Dhruva Sarja. Bharaate will be his third outing.
While the director’s aim is to entertain viewers, he also makes sure that he brings business, along with a new set of audience.
“I have kept in mind the regular fans of Sriimurali, who mostly comprise the mass audience, and I also seek the family audience, which he had missed out in his previous few films, where he was presented only as an angry young man.
At the same time, I have made sure that the producer, who is making a huge investment, gets back his returns,” says Chethan.
The film is said to have already recovered the investment, even before its release. According to reports in Gandhinagar, Bharaate has already made a pre-release business from audio, dubbing, digital, satellite, and area-wise distribution.
“I am a director, and I can’t talk about figures. However, I believe that commercial directors always have a place in the movie market. If you give business to producers, obviously they come looking for you,” he asserts.
The director, who is inspired by the works of Dr Rajkumar, Puttanna Kanagal, Telugu director, Trivikram Srinivas and Bollywood filmmaker Rohit Shetty, admits that he is not different from other directors, but at the same time, categorises himself as special.
“Every director is looking to tell a story. But me as a director, I look at reaching the maximum audiences.
Being a writer of my own films, I also pen songs and dialogues, which I consider my weapons and strength. This way, I can satisfy the audience one or the other way,” says Chethan, who has achieved a signature style with punchy dialogues, grandeur, and the way he presents the hero’s introduction song. “My subject might be commercial, but content-wise, I prefer to play with emotions and build the content on relationships,” he says.