SMohan’s film Male Nilluvavarege is a one-man-show. He describes the story as a thriller centred around an incident that takes place one night. “Male (Rain) is usually related to romance and love. But, in my film rain is related to guilt and that is the point where my story is different. In fact my tagline for the film is ‘Beware of Male,”’ he says.
Interestingly, Mohan has adapted the English play Deadly Game, written in the 60s which was also translated into Kannada by LN Sudhindra. Since, the play is a court drama, it might stretch the audience’s patience for the big screen. So I have adapted the characters rather than the entire plot and have given the plot a more visual treatment,” he says.
Mohan, who plays the lead, has considered five men all of whom need to look over 65 years to play pivotal roles in Male... “There is a retired public prosecutor, a retired judge, a retired defence lawyer, a hangman, and an accused who has spent 14 years in prison. All the individuals are related to crime, jail and court. The story of the film begins when I accidently enter the house where all five live. Dattanna, Sharath Lohitashwa, Srinivas Prabhu, Kari Subbu are among the senior actors who will star in the film. I have Chati Suresh, a broker in the corporation. He plays the accused and his look in the film is to be noted. Then I have a Mumbai girl Kavitha Bora playing the lead. I needed someone who would fit the bill of a seductress and she does just that. Along with her, we also have Soujanya and Bhoomika. Laya Kokila is the music director and the cinematography by D Prasad Babu,” he says.
Mohan took responsibility for his own actions and has directed the film, written the story, dialogues as well as the screenplay. He has also produced the film and written the songs as well as rendered his voice for one of the tracks! Despite, so much of the film’s responsibility resting on his shoulders, he doesn’t feel the pressure. “Right from my early days, I have been a writer-actor and I started directing after this. I have written stories for 51 films, along with the screenplay and dialogues. It is not stressful for me because nothing happens simultaneously. The script is done before I go on the sets so I can concentrate on the acting part of it. I do agree there will be difficult moments while directing and acting, but all through my experience, I have learnt the various aspects of cinema and doing everything for it is not a big task for me,” says Mohan, who mentions that for his kind of films, he doesn’t need a star but an actor.
“This time, my extra responsibility was that of turning producer. Mainly, because only a director can believe in these kind of stories and not the producer. For them, they only look for the commercial aspect. So, in the end, I didn’t mind investing money in a good subject.” Mohan hopes that his film becomes a trendsetter for the Kannada industry. “There are a lot of directors who have such stories in their wishlist. If my kind of a film is accepted by the audience, I think lots of films like these will come out,” he says.