Hemanth M Rao, who is making his directorial debut with Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, seems like a man on a mission. Why else would he choose the intensely stressful job of a director, when as an engineer he could have had it easier. His film is set to hit the screens next week.
“The journey was long but joyous. I guess my clarity has been my biggest strength and I was able to call the shots because I knew what I want. Secondly, I had a good producer Pushkar Mallikarjunaiah who always backed me,” says the debutant director, who planned on making the movie after working part time in advertising and scriptwriting, all of which helped him. “I had the privilege of working under Girish Kasaravalli and Jacob Varghese, and the experience was like attending a film school,” he recollects.
Speaking about the film, Hemanth says that it revolves around Alzheimer’s disease and of a missing person. “When I was thinking about missing persons, the first thing that struck my mind was the advertisements on Doordarshan. They give only sketchy details about the person. Godhi Banna means wheatish complexion, and that particular detail about a person’s skin doesn’t actually help. That way it perfectly fit the title,” he says.
The aspiring young director asserts that the movie begins with a flashback and moves forward to the present. “I was thorough with my research. Interestingly, I found that at least 50 people go missing every day who are mostly seniors and children. While I started on the film, I started observing the posters of missing people pasted on walls. I also went and met a few families whose family members had gone missing. I also met doctors at Nightingale, which treats Alzheimer’s patients,” he says.
Hemanth has also stitched a crime angle into the film. “When people go missing, there are chances of them being murdered,” he says.
According to him, when writing the script, he had Ananth Nag in mind. “But I never thought that I will end up approaching him. I am big fan of his and have followed his work. He is one actor with whom there is no class or mass barrier,” he says and adds that the icebreaker during the meeting was his sharing a personal experience. “I told him that as a child, after watching Nan Ninna Bidalare, I used to keep Raghavendra Swamy’s picture under my bed and sleep. Then when I told him the story of Godhi Banna, he was in,” says the director.
The film has Rakshit and Sruthi playing the lead along with Nag and Hemanth says that whoever he had in mind while writing the story, all are on board.
Hemanth points out that they had shot in the guerrilla filmmaking style. “We took the actors to crowded places in and around the city. On Avenue Road, we shot from 10 am to 1 pm but nobody knew we were shooting there,” he says and adds that he has brought in the old world charm of Bengaluru. “I personally went to around 200 houses in and around Basavanagudi to seek permission. Finally I found a house, which had red oxide flooring, perfect for my story,” he says.
On his technical team, the director talks of music director Charan Raj. “He is phenomenally talented,” says Hemanth. “Cinematographer Nanda Kishore Neelakanta Rao is a good friend and was a great strength. Editor Srikanth Shroff is the eldest in our team but youngest in terms of energy. MR Rajakrishnan, based out of Chennai, who has three state awards, has done the sound designing, one of the highlights,” he states.
Hemanth emphasises that he wants to do films with conviction. “Even if I make two to three films, I will be happy. I want to announce my arrival in the industry through Godhi Banna,” he says.