For director P Vasu, the filmmaking journey, spanning over three decades, has been quite akin to mountaineering in many ways and, quite unlike it, towards the end. Having established his name in Sandalwood with films like Apthamitra, Aptharakshaka and Drishya, Vasu says, “With each film, I reach a new summit, but what matters is whether the audience appreciates the effort.”
And going by his track record, the director can rest assured that the audience is indeed eagerly looking for his next, Shivalinga, starring Shivarajkumar and well-known south Indian actress Vedhika. As the film comes close to release, the obvious excitement is evident but he is humble enough to state that Shivalinga is a minimum guarantee film — the initial sum that is paid to the producer by the distributor irrespective of how the film performs. “There is little work for another couple of days. I have seen the film at the final DTS stage. The final product will be out by Monday or Tuesday and the result will be out by next Friday.
Going by the rushes, I am certain that it will save the producer, distributors and exhibitor,” he says with casual assurance.
The Technique
Speaking about his approach to filmmaking, the director points out that he uses the visualisation technique. “I envision the final product before the film is made and after it is complete, I go back to my initial visualisation to see if the end-product matches with my first thoughts. With Shivalinga it does and the reactions from my close friends, technicians and artistes have been quite encouraging,” he says.
The Theme
With a unique title like Shivalinga, the movie tries to capture the life of man who wants to sort out problems of his family and as a CID officer, says Vasu. According to him, the movie revolves around a murder, which is declared a suicide in the court because of the evidence provided. “How it is revealed as a murder is the theme of Shivalinga, which is cracked by Shivarajkumar, who plays the role of a CID officer, ” he says.
The Pigeon
Vasu has used a pigeon as a vital character in the film, and it is the only witness to the murder. “I have called the pigeon Sara in the film. The bird drives the story forward and helps CID Shivarajkumar crack the case. We have used a trained pigeon, which has won a gold medal for travelling from Chennai to Delhi, coming back in 28 days. Sara is definitely one of the highlights of the film,” he declares.
The Elements
Vasu has tried to bring in all elements of commercial cinema with comedy given prime positioning. “Whatever tension we create on the screen for the audience, I make sure to balance it with comedy. The comedy is not forced and this time apart from Sadhu Kokila, I have even created comedy with Urvashi, who plays the mother to Shivarajkumar,” he reveals.
The Backdrop
Using the creativity in patchwork and the magic of computer graphics, Vasu has created a unique backdrop for most sequences in the films. He explains, “In Apthamitra, you can see only one house, although I shot in about five houses. Likewise, I have used about five houses to create one house for Shivalinga. The exterior and interior are different houses for a single house, which one can’t make out while watching the film. We have matched the CG work on the houses. For action sequences, we have used a lot of buildings which were under construction.” A major part of the film has been shot in and around Mysuru while Milan forms the backdrop for a song.
The Surprise
With Shivarajkumar in the lead, Vedhika too plays a vital role in the film, but according to the director, there is a surprise character in the film, which he does not reveal. “All characters, especially, Vinay Prasad, Sridhar, Bharath, son of senior actor Kalyan Kumar, Vaishali Deepak and some newcomers have played vital roles, but there is a surprise in the film, which I think will only be revealed once the film is released. This person plays a key character,” he says.
The Technicians
Produced by A Suresh, Vasu has roped in PKH Das as the cameraperson while Suresh Urs, a national award winner for his work in Bombay is the editor. Art director is Ravi who did Bhajarangi, and Drishya. Dinesh was chosen the stunt master who worked with Vasu in Apthamithra and Aptharakshaka. “For the first time, I am working with music director Harikrishna and he is good with melodies, which I prefer. There are very few music directors who know where and where not to put music. In some sequences, silence play a major part more than music and dialogues and our wavelength matched perfectly,” says Vasu.
The Remake
Vasu plans to remake Shivalinga in Tamil and Telugu.”We have offers and we will surely take the film to other regions,” he says.