My honesty lies in presenting a film without any gimmicks: 'Act 1978' director Mansore

Ahead of the release of ACT- 1978 on Nov. 20, Mansore talks about what prompted him to make this thriller, and what he feels about bringing it to theatres during the pandemic
A still from  'Act 1978'
A still from 'Act 1978'

In his upcoming film, director Mansore explores an Act that was implemented in the year 1978. However, this is a plot drawn from his own experience, the director tells CE ahead of the film’s release on Nov. 20.

“My father, who was working in the state government, suddenly passed away, post which, I went through a tough time running in and out of government offices when I went to seek his pension dues."

"The way the officials handled this case was a traumatic experience. The government employee sitting on the third floor refused to handle the file because it was received by another colleague of his on the first floor. It was only after I raised my voice and shouted that I will bring the matter to media attention, is that they decided to process the papers."

"The 37 years of my father’s service documented in a file was thrown away in a corner until I retrieved it. This was the situation for a person like me, who has worked in a media company and later became a filmmaker. What would be a common man’s fate was a question that always arose in my mind."

"All this was thought-provoking. I decided to bring out the government officials’ negligence towards common man’s issues on to the big screen, and developed it in cinematic terms,” explains the director of Harivu and Nathicharami, who initially began his film career as an art director. 

Mansore, who has written the story along with T K Dayanand and Veeru Mallanna  took reference from world cinema for the screenplay. “Since this was my first attempt at a thriller, I had to study a handful of films,” he says. 

The director has brought in 48 main actors for the hostage drama. While Yajna Shetty plays the protagonist along with Suresha B, Sanchari Vijay, Shruti Achyuth Kumar,  and Pramod Shetty, the film also features 8-10 supporting characters comprising theatre and serial artistes.

“It is just an honest attempt to make a good content, and that’s the only attraction to the audience to come and watch my film,” says the National Award-winning director.

“This is my third outing. While I try and relate to the issues of a common man, my honesty as a filmmaker lies in presenting the film without any gimmicks. Secondly, I had the guts of releasing it during the pandemic. Though it is a tedious process, I am glad that I am getting support from all corners, including the technicians, producers and directors from Kannada industry,  as well as the audience,” he says.ACT-1978  distributed by KRG Studios has music by Rahul Shivakumar and background score by Bakkesh Ronada.

DOP Satya Hegde has shot the film with multiple cameras, which will also form a highlight of the movie. “While we have just one theme song, a lot of importance has been given to the background score. We have also given preference to the sound, makeup, as well as the colour grading,” says Mansore.

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