Debutant director Anand Raj is going all out to make an impressive mark in his first outing, Raaghu. Starring National Award winner Vijay Raghavendra, the film is quite an experiment for both the actor and the director. “I am a follower of Upendra sir and a big fan of his filmmaking style. He has been an inspiration for me to experiment with such a rare subject, in my own style,” says the director, whose film is produced under DKS Studios and Kota Film Factory, and will hit screens on April 28.
Billing Raaghu as a new-age thriller, Anand Raj asserts it will be a first-of-its-kind concept in Kannada cinema. Although it is a solo act film by Vijay Raghavendra, it features him in a multi-dimensional character, which is put through different situations, and in various locations. “There is a hero and villain, and we have brought in a lot of humour too. How he puts up these multiple shades is the USP of the film, which is more a mind game,” explains Anand, adding, “The entire film takes place in one night, which revolves around a medicine delivery executive.”
What made Anand confident about Vijay Raghavendra pulling off such a challenging role? “The role had a lot of scope for performance, and I was looking for an experienced artist. I had been to the sets of his latest film, Malgudi Days along with cinematographer, Uday Leela, who is also the DOP of Raaghu. This is where I saw Vijay Raghavendra’s dedication towards his craft. He is an actor with a lot of patience. I had more than a couple of reasons to approach Vijay Raghavendra for this role, and he has lived up to it,” says Anand.
Such an experiment calls for superior technical standards, and Anand considers them as the second hero of Raaghu. “DOP Uday Leela has used all the modern equipment to film Raaghu. We have huge sets created by the art deparment. The film has Ritvik Muralidhar doing the background music, and it is not just a regular score. We have used a lot of tribal instruments, for which we had tribals coming from Hampi to work on the music, and we had Sujay Jois composing two songs,” he says.