Extensive support given by big stars to a handful of Kannada films that were released over the past two weeks has further boosted the confidence of fellow actors, while helping in promotion of their own films. Stars like Darshan, Puneeth Rajkumar, Yash, Sudeep, Rakshit Shetty, and Sriimurali, among others, have openly stood by the latest releases -- Prajwal Devaraj’s Gentleman, directed by Jadesh Kumar Hampi; director-actor Krishna’s Love Mocktail; and KS Ashoka’s Dia — have been talking about their films before and after its release. While Puneeth Rajkumar wished good luck and success, and talked about the various films, Rocking Star Yash, in his latest video message, had a few words to say about Dia, and requested the audience to encourage good films, and watch them in theatres. Sriimurali also mentioned about Ashoka’s directorial, tweeting, “Dia is a movie, which should reach to everyon.”
Here is what stars had to say about various films:
Let’s encourage artistes and technicians from our industry: Darshan
Darshan, who attended the pre-release event of Gentleman, requested the Kannada audience to wake up. He said, “Behind a film, there is a lot of effort from technicians, artistes and the whole crew, and these films need cine-goers’ support and encouragement. We always feel proud to be Kannadiga, but we desert our regional cinema. Let’s pat and encourage artistes and technicians from our industry, and this will help them prove their mettle.” The first production venture of director Guru Deshpande is doing well in theatres.
Glad to see Love Mocktail is finally seeing some ray of hope: Sudeep
Krishna’s latest release, Love Mocktail, has been supported by Sudeep, who is glad to see the film in theatres and running to houseful shows. “Glad to hear Love Mocktail is finally seeing some ray of hope. It was saddening to see the film not getting the response n collections it deserves. I loved every bit of the film n looking forward to all u frnzz watching it. My luv to @darlingKrishna. Mch power to u friend,” Sudeep said in his tweet. He later mentioned, “Im thanfkul to all those who supported #LoveMocktail.. it’s indeed a bliss to see tat inivitiaves were taken to make this film reach all. It truly deserves this response. Happy to see it finally doin well. More power to u.” (sic)
A good Kannada film should win: Rakshit Shetty
Dia, which opened to good response from critics, enjoyed support from actors like Yash, Sriimurali and Rakshit Shetty, which further helped it reach the audience. Rakshit, who watched Dia on Sunday, has been raving about Ashoka’s directorial. So much so that the film’s poster became the filmmaker’s profile photo on Twitter. He took a personal interest in talking about Dia, and through his series of tweets, even explained why the film needs to be watched by everyone. “Beautiful beautiful. beautiful. That’s all I can say. Rush to the theatres now now now. I love you all in advance for saving it. I know you will #Dia. The most beautiful film I have watched in recent times,” Rakshit posted.
The actor told CE, “Dia is a well-crafted film, and for me, a good Kannada film should win. When you watch the film, you know that the team has made a lot of effort. The director, in particular, is a good craftsman, and for the Kannada industry to grow, directors like him should survive. If they die, the Kannada industry will never grow. As on date, we have a dearth of good filmmakers here, and we should recognise a good filmmaker. I want Ashoka to win.”
Rakshit added that for the Kannada film industry to survive and do well, 20-25 good Kannada films should be made in a year, for which at least 30 good directors are needed. “To reach this number, we should encourage the directors who are currently working towards making good cinema. They would, of course, improve with each film, but we need to recognise the talent, and they need our support,” said Rakshit, adding, “There is no point in thinking that only our films should do well. If four films do well out of 200 odd, then a lot of Kannada films releasing every year is not a good sign at all. We need to churn out good films constantly for the audience to come to theatres. If 10 good films come from new directors, 10 films feature big stars, and another 10 come from the average and established actors, we will have at least have 30 films to attract cine-goers.”