Designing film posters for nine years inspired Sai Krishna to don the director's hat.
He will start work on his debut directorial venture, titled Kkshamisu, soon under the able mentorship of Yograj Bhat and the aegis of his father and well-known director, Sai Prakash.
With a record of having designed posters for more than 300 films, Krishna has an eye for art.
A newcomer in the industry, Sai feels that new talent should be given a platform and has decided to cast new faces for his debut project.
"My project actually took off from March when I invited applications from new comers to be part of my film. I received 2600 applicants out of which we could shortlist only 230 for the auditions. After weeks of hard work, we have finally zeroed down on 4 leads - 2 male leads and 2 heroines," explains Sai Krishna. "We have so much talent in our country. I really feel we need newcomers in Sandalwood," he says.
Interestingly, the title Kkshamisu was born after the director had a quarrel with his wife.
"I had written the script but couldn't decide the title. At that time, I had a fight with my wife and later in the night, I kept apologising in all languages and that's how the title came about."
Production of Kkshamisu will kick-start from July before which the selected four will travel along with the director and the crew members to get a feel of the shooting locations.
"We want to make them comfortable before they face the camera. I will soon reveal my new poster with the selected lead pairs, which is currently under wraps. I am getting into minute details before starting my film as I have to live up to the expectations of my father and director Yograj Bhat," he says.
His journey
Direction was always a childhood dream for Sai Krishna but he could not pursue it since his father didn't want him to. "After completing my MS in Information Technology, there was a job ready for me at Infosys, but I did not wish to pursue a 9 to 5 job. That's when I took up a diploma course in multimedia, where I learnt the art of designing. As I was completing the course, the poster of the film, Monalisa designed by Mani caught my attention. I started designing for a few films. It was after the Mungaru Male poster, that I fetched a lot of offers," he says. Later, he started assisting a lot of well known directors in the industry. This gave him confidence and he finally opened up to his father. "In 2008, Ashwini Productions approached me. Yograj Bhat has been my moral support because he believed in me," he says.