BANGALORE: Director Om Saiprakash is known for making sentiment-oriented movies. His films Thavarige Baa Thangi and Anna Thangi were huge successes at the box office a few years ago. Now, Saiprakash expects the same success with his latest film Devarukotta Thang which is expected to hit the silver screen on Thursday across the state.
“The USP of Devarukotta Thangi is Hamsalekha’s music and hero Shivarajkumar. I consider the performance of Meera Jasmine as an added value for this film,’’ says Saiprakash.
However, Gandhinagar pandits claim that there are no takers for sentiment-oriented films.
It was rumoured that no distributor has come forward to buy Devarukotta Thangi even though it has a strong star cast. ``Yes, it is true that distributors are not in a position to buy the rights of big-budget films,’’ says Saiprakash.
He said that initially no distributor showed interest to buy the rights of his earlier films Thavarige Baa Thangi and Anna Thangi. “Distributors vied among themselves when those films became success at the box office. They paid premium to buy distribution rights of those films. I expect same response for my latest film,’’ he says.
The film Devarukotta Thangi is expected to be released at Bhumika theatre (earlier it was known as States theatre and was famous for screening ‘A’ certificate films. Now it has been renovated by Tallam Nanjunda Setty, former president of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce) The film will be released on Thursday instead of Friday. Why Thursday? ``I consider Thursday as an auspicious day for me. So, I prefer Thursday to Friday,’’ he says.
Many people in Gandhinagar, the hub of film activity in Bangalore, believe that Minister for Tourism G Janardhana Reddy has provided finance for Devarukotta Thangi. Did Janardhana Reddy watch this film? “No. Janardhana Reddy is busy with politics. He has not invested money in this film and has no connection with it. I included a sentence ‘Janardhana Reddy presents’ on wall-posters out of affection and friendship.
One need not mistake it,’’ he clarifies.