Roopa Rao has produced ‘Kenda’ along with the film’s director Sahadev Kelavadi
Roopa Rao is a rare filmmaker who makes films from the heart. Her gentle, coming-of-age drama, Gantumootte (2019), The film proved to be a new beginning for the Kannada film industry, which was suffering from a dearth of female stories. After five years, Roopa is ready for the release of her film. Kenda (Amber), The film is directed by his long-time collaborator and Gantumootte Cinematographer Sahadev Kelvadi. The duo is producing the film under the banner of Amyukti Studios.
Kenda The film is about the disillusioned youth of Bangalore and explores the disorganised crime through the eyes of low-level gangsters with big dreams. Bharath Beevi plays the protagonist, while Rithvik Kaikini is the music composer.
Excerpts from the interview,
How did you arrive at the story of ‘Kenda’?
Sahdev and I have known each other for almost 15 years, since we started our cinema journey together. Since then, he has been talking about this concept. When we talk about rowdiness, we only take known names. What about the infantrymen, who are important to this spectrum? What brings them to this kind of work? What is their story? Who do they idolise? Do they have dreams? We wanted to understand this and so on Kenda This is very close to Sahdev’s heart and he has done it very intelligently. Even though it is about mayhem, there is no unnecessary bloodshed shown in it.
Bharat BV in ‘Kenda’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The trailer of the film also hints at a political angle…
There was a time when we were growing up, we used to see a lot of things CloseAnd curfews. Political unrest was common in the centre and the state. The film is set in that period, but the exact year is not revealed. But there are hints; for example, no one uses cell phones. The film is also a political satire, though in a subtle way. When there is a riot, we see a lot of people… but who are they? Some people do it for money, while some don’t even know why they are involved in the riot.
Kenda It is a character-driven film; through the character of the protagonist, we get to know various aspects of the plot as he goes through several situations.
Also read:Sahadev Kelvadi is going to be a director with ‘Kenda’
‘Gantumoote’ was made from a woman’s perspective. How was it to make a film directed by a male character?
As important as it is to tell stories from a woman’s perspective, it is equally important to tell stories from a man’s perspective that are not macho. How masculinity is defined and questioned makes a huge difference in male-dominated films. Writers should know that men can be grey too. This is a unique way of writing a hero. In our film, he (the hero) is a common man. If you call him a hero, you would expect him to be a savior. Here, the story itself is the ‘hero’ and we have explored the aspirational aspect. In the early 2000s, when BPOs and IT companies came to Bengaluru, many people felt that a public sector job was a distant dream and if you didn’t know English, you couldn’t think of such opportunities.
A scene from ‘Kenda’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement.
What is the challenge of marketing a small-scale, content-oriented film in today’s box-office-obsessed environment?
what happened with Lucia What happened 11 years ago cannot happen now. The grammar of social media has changed. Then, that (Pawan Kumar, director) Lucia) were blogging and writing on Facebook. Now, it’s all about reels. You need to promote your content in 30 seconds, of which the first 10 seconds have to grab people’s attention. Filmmakers should now also learn to make reels. If you can spend so much that your product is seen everywhere – and that’s good – then the film will work. If your film is good but if you are not able to spend money on promotion, it will be over.
When are you getting back in the director’s seat?
I’m writing right now and the official announcement should come in September. I’ve also signed another project that’s due out next year and I can’t wait to share it with the world!
Kenda will release in theatres on July 26.
