I’m an introvert

I can’t single out any one source as my inspiration. I conceive story ideas from what I read, observe and think

- Upendra

Wielding the megaphone for a project after a space of five years with ‘Upendra 2’, Kannada superstar Upendra, who has his share of fan following across the two Telugu-speaking states, insists the film is a proper sequel to ‘Upendra’ which released in 1999.“’Upendra 2’ commences from where ‘Upendra’ ended.

While the first one was more of ‘I-centric’, the second is more of ‘you-centric’. It is a reflection of everyone’s inner feelings and its purpose will be only met if everyone relates to it,” he gushes in a chat with Hans Talkies. “Even if you didn’t watch ‘Upendra’, you can still understand ‘Upendra 2’.”

As an after-thought he adds, “The subject has been told earlier (by many makers) but I narrated it in a way that even a layman can understand it. I don’t think anybody tells anything new; how you present it matters the most.” Despite going to the sets with a bound script, he quips that the film didn’t turn out the way he conceived it.

“I went to the sets thinking that I will shoot what I’ve wrote but it turned out to be something different. In a way it was what exactly I wanted,” he laughs uproariously “The script altered itself and the shot divisions too were demanded by it. I firmly believe that what it (film) turns out will be better than what we shoot.”

The film stars Kristina Akheeva and Parul Yadav alongside Upendra and he maintains that the leading ladies too will leave their impact. “Heroines have always had key roles in my films. I can’t imagine a heroine only for songs; I can’t work that way.” Many of his directorial ventures reflect the harsh reality of the society and relations (human).

Ask him whether his stories are born out of his frustration towards the society, he responds, “Everybody has frustration towards society and it’s that I have a dais called cinema to explore it. However, I can’t single out any one source as my inspiration. I conceive story ideas from what I read, observe and think.”

With many top South heroes like Kamal Haasan, Prabhas and Mahesh Babu preferring to star in bilinguals off late, we wonder whether he has any plans of making a Kannada-Telugu bilingual up next. “I used to plan a lot earlier but I’m now just going with the flow. I’m enjoying the process of movie-making more and if a producer comes to me with a decent proposal, I will star in bilinguals.

Nonetheless, I stopped expecting much -- may be because of my age or what I read,” he smiles. Veering into his personal life, he says he is in complete contrast to what he plays in his films, especially in his directorials. “I don’t speak much in real life; I speak to myself more. I am more of an introvert,” he says, signing off.

By Nagaraj Goud