‘He left an indelible impression on me’

BENGALURU: Kashinath was a trendsetter and went on to carve a niche in Kannada film industry. He dealt with taboo subjects like sex, which was not easy. He always chose tricky subjects which would have spoilt other people’s personal reputation, but because he laced it with humour, he carried it off. 
He was successful in dabbling in subjects which became huge entertainers and that was his forte. While that was one part of Kashinath, he balanced it with his path-breaking films like his first film ‘Aparichita’. I still remember watching it in a theatre and was left awestruck. A 22-year-old boy directing the film was stunning for me. To imagine himself as a hero, portray his weaknesses openly on screen and catch the imagination of the audience was a hitherto unimaginable feat. 

Lean budget films becoming superhits was yet another of his hallmarks. He would shoot only minimum raw stock needed for his story. His students like V Manohar and Upendra got their first breaks through him. He always brought a smile to people’s faces when he appeared on screen. Though I didn’t know him personally, when he came on my show ‘Weekend with Ramesh’, the man left an indelible impression on me in those four hours. He was not one of those superficial persons at all. He had depth, he had understood life and was very matured. 

Something he said in the show then made a lot of sense. I remember he said “Don’t spoil your life by pulling other people’s legs, which simply means you are at the level of their leg and that’s why you are able to pull it. If you are at the level of the head, you will never reach their legs.” It was very interesting to know the way he looked at life. (As told to A Sharadhaa)