After his last film Jatta, which was widely appreciated, Kannada director BM Giriraj is set to release his next, Mythri. The film has already built up curiosity among film enthusiasts, as it includes stalwarts like Mohanlal, Puneeth Rajkumar and music director Illaiyaraaja as part of it.
“Mythri is actually ‘my-three’ for a couple of reasons. It is my third film and I have three biggies,” he says.
Mythri has Puneeth playing himself while Mohanlal plays the character of a defence research scientist. While the director is all praise for Puneeth, he is awed by Mohanlal. Giriraj says, “Mohanlal is a pot full of water that will never go dry. What drives an artiste even after 350 films to do an experimental film like Mythri remains a question for me.”
Narrating Mohanlal’s conviction on the sets, Giriraj says, “Mohanlal has spoken in Kannada. He used to practise the dialogues while interacting with the light boys and watching their expressions. And when he did not get the same expression while facing the camera, he would go back to the boys to get the perfect dialogue delivery. That is a genius actor’s conviction. He is not only a great actor but also a great human being. He brought positive vibes on the sets.”
Talking about Illaiyaraaja, Giriraj says, “The legend has composed music for more than 1,000 films and he has seen films of different genres. For him, our film was not challenging at all, but he took complete care. At 73, he still works for 14 hours a day. We can only bow to his dedication,” he says.
The film also stars Atul Kulkarni and Bhavana among others, and will release in Chennai, Karnataka, Mumbai, Pune and Delhi on Friday. The makers also plan to release it in the US and Australia.