T S Nagabharana is one of the well known film directors in Sandalwood. Nagabharana, who was in Gulbarga on Thursday, made suggestion to bring Kannada movies back on track to restore their past glory. Excerpts:
l Are present generation of directors and producers failing to make good movies?
Yes. I divide the 80-year-old Kannada cinema industry into six generations. First generation is birth of the industry which is the period of Gubbi Veeranna, B R Panthulu and so on. Later, came the second, third and fourth generations. Mine and my contemporary directors belong to the fifth generation, and the present young filmmakers are the sixth. Those who learnt cinema well are a few now. Good cinemas cannot be made until they inculcate skills.
l About declining trend of bridge cinemas
What we call bridge cinema (a combination of parallel and commercial movies) is nowhere at present. There is a need to make at least 20 bridge cinemas per year.
They should entertain and make the people think. Unfortunately, these days directors and producers are giving too much importance to technique.
There is no good content at all.
l You proposed digitisation of movies during your tenure as chairman of Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy. What is the concept?
We conducted training for technicians on how to make good cinema by making use of latest equipment. Because, the outcome of the visual media should be useful to society. If you fail to create a forum for educating those who want to make movies, self-learning will begin.
Self-learning is what you see in the current Kannada cinemas.
l What is your take on remaking of movies?
Remaking movies is not a challenge. It is more like eating leftovers.