Better late than never,” that’s how Naveen Reddy B talks about his directorial debut, Khaki. But what took this assistant/associate director 16 years to go with an independent venture? “It did take time to make a mark. Having said that, it is all about luck. My few contacts in the industry took a little longer to hold me to this responsibility,” says the first-timer, expressing happiness that producer Tarun Shivappa — who has seen his works in his previous projects like Rose, Leader — approached him to direct this film. “The producer had just one condition: The story will be theirs, I should just take charge of directing the film,” he adds.
Khaki is synonymous with the police, but according to Naveen, this film is not a cop drama. The hero, played by Chiranjeevi Sarja, is a cable operator in the film. “Every individual wears khaki and acts like parallel police. The story was written by Vidhyadhar and throws light on issues faced by the citizens, including garbage and dumping, criminal activities and the present political scenario, all played in the undercurrent,” he explains.
His years of experience as an associate and assistant director also came handy. More than the director, says Naveen, it is the assistant director who carries out more of the fieldwork. This helped the newbie director in his first film but he adds, “Those who saw my work on the sets mentioned that I did not come across as a first time director.”The film, made under the banner of Tarun Talkies, will be released on January 24. It features Tanya Hope in the female lead, along with Shivamani, Chaya Singh, Raghuramappa and Dev Gil in pivotal roles.