Krishna is doing a double role, of sorts. The actor, who is waiting to see how the audience responds to his upcoming film Huccha 2 releasing this week, is also doing a technician’s job. He speaks to City Express from Chennai, where he is overseeing the last-minute job of ensuring that the right copy is being uploaded.
Darling Krishna (as he is fondly called), who worked with Suri as an assistant before becoming an actor, says that the skills learnt then have now come in handy. Huccha 2 directed by Om Prakash Rao has the actor taking care of the post-production work and the theatrical release.
He says, “Director Om Prakash is 50 years and cannot really run around for this. So, I more or less worked as a co-director for Huccha 2. Since I knew the job, I said why not, after all it is our film. I wanted to make sure that everything went well before it is out in theatres”.Huccha 2 is also interesting for its title. Huccha was a film directed by Om Prakash Rao 17 years ago, and it brought its lead actor Sudeep into the limelight. So, Krishna feels the added responsibility of ensuring that part two comes out right as well.
“I thought it was my duty that people who love Sudeep and the director’s work, a blockbuster, are not disappointed with this edition. There is a sentimental attachment to the film,” says Krishna.
“There are bound to be comparisons. Sudeep had given an extraordinary performance in the first and people would be curious to know how I would carry forward that role in Huccha 2 and how well I work with that character.”About his role, Krishna says that he is an eccentric from the start. “Huccha saw the hero becoming unstable after he is ditched by his lover but, in Huccha 2, the character is abnormal from the very first frame.
He is called a lunatic by everyone, but he keeps fighting for his rights,” he says. So, is Om Prakash still sticking to the old filmmaking style? No, says Krishna. “He is a successful commercial director and has been in the industry for 30 years. It is not easy to sustain yourself in the industry for so long. In every language industry, a director’s career comes to a standstill in 8 to 10 years. Om Prakash is among the few who have stayed on this long. In fact, nobody from his league are around today.”
“Having said that, he updates himself with the latest in this field. He learns by watching other films, he is a movie buff too. He has trouble with his health but his passion for cinema has not faded. Despite constraints, he is full of energy and his exhaustion only shows when he calls for ‘pack-up’, then he looks for a place to rest. Until then, he is on his toes,” says the actor, who has a deep respect for the director.
About his own career, Krishna admits that, despite his best efforts, his choice of movies weren’t so right. “I know that, apart from Madarangi or my role in John Jonny Janaradhan or my cameo in Rudrathandava, there are films I have done as a hero and didn’t like, just as the audience didn’t. For me, it has been like batting for a century in a losing match. I hope Huccha 2 will be a winner to me as well as the team. After having watched the film at least 50 times, I feel that this film is way better than Madarangi too for me… everyone in every department have put in their best,” he says.
With audience’s taste changing every other day, is it possible to have them interested in films like Huccha 2? “Of course. In fact, when Om Prakash titled Sudeep’s film Huccha, it was initially rejected. After its release, this remains the most talked about film. Though, I want to add that this movie is nothing like Huccha… there are bound to be comparisons,” he says.
Krishna knows that he cannot predict the success of a movie, but he is certain that this is a “beautiful” film made by Om Prakash. “I am a critic myself and, if I feel the film is not good, I would not promote it. I hope it will be a game changer in my career,” he says.