Indrajit Lankesh needs no introduction. Having been around for more than a decade, Indrajit has time and again proved that he has evolved as a filmmaker. His love for directing films has made him to take on projects that resonate within him. And with Thuntata, Monalisa and Aishwarya among others, he has made his point.
Taking time for his next venture, Indrajit says, "I do not think that I am a complete filmmaker. I am a Sunday director, wearing the cap occasionally. I took up films as a hobby with my profession being journalism. I am not one of those who makes films after films. It is a creative business, not a factory."
His career changes are born of a conscious decision and he is among those who believes that every man is the architect of his own fortune; every man is the architect of his own character. “I make films when I am ready for it, otherwise, I am always with my paper, Lankesh Patrike, which is my love. It takes a lot of time and introspection to do movies," he says.
Class vs mass
As a media person and a director, Indrajit feels that there is always a dilemma between film reviewers and common man and he seems to have analysed the growing gap. "Take the example of Chennai Express. The reviews were not overwhelming but people loved it. So we can see a lot of difference between the so called intellectuals and a common man. The gap has to be brought together, which is now running parallely. I want to bridge the gap, which is a very difficult task," says the director.
Not money
Of his different kind of filmmaking through which he has made a brand for himself, Indrajit says, "I came to the industry not to earn money. I came to make my kind of films. I grew up watching lot of James Bond and other kind films and I started living in theatres like Galaxy, Rex, Blue Diamond and was exposed to Hindi and English films. Later, I wanted to bring the feel to Kannada cinema and that's how my film Monalisa was created. I started doing movies, more towards the cosmopolitan side and for multiplex audiences," says Indrajit, who admits that among his nine films, it was Monalisa that got him overnight success. “It got me everything. I won the state award and it gave me a real high, when I managed to get the critics and audience both loving it," he says.
Ideal mentor
Having had his career figured out, he also had a few actors taking off in a big way after they made their debut under his direction. "It feels good when I see actresses like Sada, Deepika Padukone, Illeana and Nathalia Kaur doing well for themselves. Somewhere people are taking notice of what I am doing," he says.
Being sporty
Indrajit is also a good sportsperson but it was fate that made him get behind the camera. "I always wanted to get into sports but became a filmmaker because it runs in our family. My father P Lankesh and my sister Kavita Lankesh are also directors. My father has won a national award also. He always told me not to make films just to make money. Though I wanted to be a sportsperson, I am happy to be a director because if I were in sports, I would have retired by now," says Indrajit who also reveals that he could not become what he wanted to because of an accident he met at once. "I was a good cricketer and represented the state level. But fate had a something else in store for me," he says. Though he could not become a sportsperson, he managed to involve himself in writing about sports.
“I used to run a sports magazine named ‘Allrounder’, which was one of the most successful magazines in Kannada in the late 90s. I also introduced a lot of good writers through this magazine. People like Ramachandra Guha, Balaji Srinivasan and Srinivas Gowda wrote columns. In fact my father to wrote a column - 'Ring Side', which became famous. I am glad people still remember about the magazine," he says. Now Indrajit is planning to do a sports film too. "I realised that being passionate about sports I had not done a sports film. So I have written a script based on sports for which I will be travelling to China in a few days. I have considered it as my backdrop. I plan to make it a trilingual," he states.
masharadhaa@newindianexpress.com