For a new cinema

For the first time on the Indian celluloid, the audience will get a sense of happenings during the World War II,” declares filmmaker Krish, sharing his experience of shooting for the period film ‘Kanche’ and how his lead actor Varun Tej played the part.

The critically acclaimed maker was supposed to direct Varun’s debut film, but destiny had other plans. Ask the filmmaker on why he chose to cast the lanky actor as an Indian soldier who fights the Axis instead of an established face, he says, “I think the budget would have soared had it for an established actor (laughs uproariously).

“Yes. I was supposed to launch Varun, for which we both travelled for some time. I got to know him better during the period. Unfortunately, that film did not materialise, but I knew his passion for films. So he was in my mind for the protagonist role while writing ‘Kanche’ and Naga Babu was convinced after listening the script.”

The director admits getting into the shoes of a World War II soldier wasn’t easy for Varun. “He plays the role of Dhupati Hari Babu, an Indian soldier fighting against Germany near the Italian border. The character demanded him to transform himself from head to toe — hairdo, costumes, body and attitude. He went through the hard grind to get into the character. He did a lot of research, including watching videos of war films, meeting ex-army men and even underwent boot camps,” explains Krish, who tried to fashion an emotional period drama.

Krish’s penchant for complex and multi-layered screenplays coupled with huge pre-production work is a known thing, but he believes “script” is the key to a film's fortune. “I always wanted to narrate untold stories on screen, which requires a lot of homework, and ‘Kanche’ falls into the same category. When I was filming ‘Vedam’ in Vizag, I was told about the Japanese air forces bombing the city in 1942. Since then I wanted to make a film on World War II,” he recalls. He continues, “I finished writing the script in a short span but it took six months to come up with a fitting finale. Around this stage my team was getting drained but I told them that we are attempting a first-of-a-kind Indian cinema and that kept them motivated.”

Krish insists that the film’s realistic war episodes will blow people away. “It has some breathtaking and edge-of-the-seat action and we shot it very effectively. The film also comes as an epic love saga,” he states, adding writer Sai Madhav’s razor-sharp dialogues will be the talking point once the film opens this Dasara.

By Sashidhar Adivi