For debutant director Gautham Iyer, who chose filmmaking over starting a business, it all began with the character Indira, which gave rise to his first feature film, Vrithra.
“The idea came about while I was studying at the film institute, during the making of short films. I met a few women and understood that their perspective and approach about certain things are completely different from men. The conversations with them led me to the character Indira, followed by the story. When I was working with director Kiranraj as an associate for his debut feature film, Charlie, I got the ingredients to the screenplay of Vrithra, which eventually turned out to be a crime thriller,” says Gautham.
The film will be released on October 11.
Vrithra created a buzz right from the time the project was announced. Reason: the film initially had Rashmika Mandanna in the lead role.
She was later replaced with model-turned-actor Nithya Shri.
“I did feel the hiccup because the movie was announced, and we had released the first stills. Rashmika left because of date clashes, and it happened just as we were planning to go on the floor. I wondered about how to make the movie and whom to cast in her place. I even thought about starting something else and coming back with this film later. Luckily, the team and producers (Lalithaa, Shambulingayya Swami, Rajwant Singh) stood by me, and after doing a lot of research, we found Nithya Shri,” reveals Gautham, adding that he has no regrets about Rashmika Mandanna exiting the project.
“It was absolutely professional. The thought of finding a profile closest to her was difficult. However, Nithya Shri has done a fantastic job. I am happy that I found her,” he adds.
Vrithra is a thriller that every common person can relate to, and a genre Gautham personally believes in. Along with Nithya Shri in the lead, the film also stars Prakash Belawadi, Sudharani, Tharun Sudhir, Ravi Sitaram, and Girish Jatti.
It has music by DA Vasanth and cinematography by Auditya Venkatesh.
“It is because of everyone coming together that we have managed to achieve our vision,” says Gauthaum, who is going all out to make his film reach the audience.
“Today, as a filmmaker, the shooting process has become easier than taking it to theatres. However, I am confident that the movie lovers of Bengaluru, and overall Karnataka, are open to new content and experimental subjects. Otherwise, films like Lucia, Rangitaranaga and, U-Turn wouldn’t have become hits in our state, and across the globe. I keep my fingers crossed,” says a confident Gautham.