Hemanth Kumar, co-director of Hemanth M Rao’s acclaimed film Godhi Banna Sadharna Mykattu, is marking his directorial debut with Thurthu Nirgamana. The director is sure to inspire with this unique title (it means ‘Emergency Exit’) and the story’s interesting characters.
The lead will be played by actor and singer Sunil Raoh and the female lead will be essayed by Samyuktha Hegde, who is also looking forward to her upcoming film Kaalej Kumar. Interestingly, the film will also have Raj B Shetty playing a pivotal character, along with Achyuth Kumar, Sudharani, Hitha Chandrashekar and Amrutha Ramamurthy in the cast.
Hemanth has been quietly getting on with his film and is now on its second schedule, and we catch up with him over a telephonic conversation. He says that the movie has already 24 days of shooting and has another 22 days left.
He says, “It is a fantasy genre and there is an element of magic realism in it. I would call it a coming-of-age movie, especially of the character played by Sunil, who goes on to find himself by accepting his insecurities. It is a concept-based film and there is an element of family drama in it. There is an underlying philosophy in the story. As of now, I can share only very little about the subject.”
With a sea of directors flooding the industry, there are a handful who make movies with substance and Hemath is one of them. This ad filmmaker who enjoys making short films says that this is the kind of film he has always wanted to watch. “I am drawn to movies that delves into fantasy, philosophy and human drama, and this is an amalgamation of all of it. In our lives, there are things that happen by chance and we can’t question it. We have to say that ‘it just happened’ and that’s what adds magic to life. Life always gives us second chances and every day is an opportunity, and Thurthu Nirgamana deals with questions like that and the importance of life itself.”
Interestingly, Hemanth initially didn’t have Sunil Raoh in mind to play the lead and instead had planned the movie with a newbie. But after watching the actor’s webseries Loose Connection, the director knew that Sunil will be the right person to play the character Vikram of his film.
“There is no heroism in the movie and no intense fight scenes. I am thankful to have an eclectic mix of actors, who have come together because of the script. It is a cliche to say that the movie is ‘different’ but every actor in the film is important and this is something they have not been part of before. It is like a butterfly connect,” he says.
Hemanth is happy that he is entering the industry at the right time. “The audience is open to different kind of aesthetics and I am looking forward to working to meet that expectation,” he says.
Rishi makes his first cameo appearance in Hemanth’s directorial
Rishi, who is a well-known actor after Operation Alamelamma and who is now shooting for Kavalu Daari, is making his first cameo appearance in this movie. He says that talent of the team drew him to Thurthu Nirgamana. “I heard the story and it is very quirky, and is new age Kannada cinema. I believed in it and it is a fun role that I wanted to do. Moreover, Hemanth is a bundle of talent, and a director to watch out for,” says the actor, who has completed shooting his portions for this movie.