The autograph that became a title
Published: 15th May 2013 11:37 AM | Last Updated: 15th May 2013 01:30 PM | A+A A-
Many years ago filmmaker Anil Annaiah happened to meet Dr Rajkumar. He was just 18 then and as any excited fan was thrilled to have got an autograph from the Sandalwood icon. On a chit of paper, Rajkumar had scribbled, 'Preetiye devaru'. This was in 1989. Now 25 years after that happy memory, Anil has registered the autograph as the title of his film. The production will be funded by a corporate entity.
The film is no experiment for Anil. “My experience in the industry has been mostly with ad films and films on social development. I have written and directed films in six languages - Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya and Assamese - such as Muskan Ankhein, Poison’s, Lakshmi and Bandhan. My documentary on autism won an international award in 2011,” says Anil.
The film, Preetiye Devaru will comprise three stories. “The idea for the film took root after I met Rajkumar. I based its premise on my book Nobody Speaks to Me, which I released in 2000. I am currently working on the screen play. I need to do justice to the title. I hope to start shooting in June,” says Anil.
The stories in Preetiye Devaru will connect three generations; globally and philosophically.
Business with a heart
Anil’s ambitions don’t end with making films. He is eager to involve the corporate world in social development. “I want corporates to come forward and bring social change. Currently, I am marketing this movie in Kannada but later I will do so for other language audiences too,“ he says.
Anil doesn’t think he’s being lofty in his ideas.” Rajkumar was a simple man. That fact itself is a lesson in humanity and it is this that I will try to focus on in my film,” he says.