The careful scrutiny Rakshit Shetty invests into his projects shows that he is an actor who knows his audience. His upcoming film Vaastu Prakara directed by Yogaraj Bhat is about to hit the big screen and the actor is confident that it will garner him a huge following, especially considering the release locations.
“This film was a planned move by me. In the past, I had both multiplex and single-screen audience for Simple Agi Ondhu Love Story. Ulidavaru Kandante was targeted at the multiplex crowd. This movie by Bhatru could reach B & C centres apart from multiplexes and single screens, which is important for me,” says the actor.
The film by Bhatru deals with misconceptions surrounding vaastu and is a spoof on the ancient science. According to Rakshit, vaastu is an age-old theory, which many have not understood till date. “I do like to follow it if it is convenient. Today, if I build a house, I will go by vaastu as I don’t want to take any risk and repent later,” he says.
And the influence the film has had on him seems to be such that he suggests the science be applied on Bengaluru city. He opines, “It will be great if vaastu can help ease the traffic and save lakes. Since vaastu is about building a house where we get good breeze and sunlight, it can also be applied to get the garden city tag back. It is time we concentrated on how to plan for a house without destroying lakes and green areas.”
On how vaastu can help Sandalwood, he feels it is not science that can make a difference, but the thinking of filmmakers. “I feel that the Kannada film industry should start experimenting like the Malayalam and Tamil industries. We have all kind of audiences, but we have been only following the Andhra kind of filmmaking. If we want to get quality audience to theatres, we have to make some good films, which should be different from the regular formula,” he says.
Rakshit suggests the industry should come together and conduct a survey to understand the pros and cons of Kannada films. “We need to study the Kannada industry to know where we are losing out. We also need to know where to have more theatres and such factors. A good analysis of the business will help Sandalwood,” he suggests.