Exclusive! I prefer romantic comedies, because unlike thrillers, they have repeat value: Darling Krishna

Since his resurgence as a leading man with his debut directorial Love Mocktail in 2020, Darling Krishna has been steadfastly favouring romantic comedies for his onscreen outings. Most of his films in the recent past and his upcoming ones too fall in this category. Audience fatigue at seeing him in the same genre over-and-over again is not a worrying factor at this point, he reasons. In a quick conversation ahead of the release of Dil Pasand, in which he is paired with Nishvika Naidu and Megha Shetty, Krishna explains his penchant for love stories, and when he will return to the director’s chair.

Dil Pasand, incidentally, opens in theatres on the same day as the horror flick O, which has Krishna’s wife, Milana Nagaraj as one of the leads. For the couple, though, this is not a war at the box office and they are hoping that each finds his/her audience, given that both films are drastically different. Instead, what they are focusing on right now is their new home. “We have just shifted to a new place in Bengaluru. Between our shoot schedules and getting the house ready, it’s been a hectic and stressful few months for us,” says Krishna, settling into this chat with us.

“I have four films ready for release. Dilpasand comes out tomorrow, Sugar Factory and Mr Bachelor are ready, while Love Birds has only dubbing pending. I have to finish up Love Me or Hate Me. In fact, all of these are films that I took up after Love Mocktail. This year, since Love Mocktail 2 came out, I have signed up only for one new project, Kousalya Supraja Rama, which is also about 40% done,” says Krishna.

In earlier conversations with us, the actor-filmmaker had said that the idea behind taking up a bunch of acting commitments was to be able to fund his directorial ventures. Is he gearing up to get into the director’s chair again? “Not this year, that’s for sure. Milana and I have been busy with our respective filming schedules and in getting our new house ready. In fact, the house was the primary focus, so, we have not been able to sit together and think of a script. Some interior work is still pending. Once all that is done and I finish some of my other commitments, then, the two of us can think of a subject to develop. Most probably, this will happen only sometime in February next year,” he says.

When we last spoke, Krishna had said that he wanted to make an intense love story with him and Milana in the lead as his next directorial. Is that still on the agenda, considering that the two of them are doing films together with other filmmakers as well? “Yes, that will still happen. I know that whatever I do will be different from how Milana and I are being presented in our current projects. Although the two of us have been paired in a couple of films since the two Love Mocktail movies, thankfully, they have all been vastly different. For instance, in Love Birds, we are polar opposites of how we were in Love Mocktail. Here, we are more often at each other’s throat than all lovey-dovey. Going forward, even if we are cast together, we will make sure that the stories and characterisations are not like anything we’ve done before,” adds Krishna.

Coming back to Dil Pasand, the actor says that when director Shivatejass narrated the script to him, he was rolling around laughing from start-to- finish, which appealed to him. “It’s not extraordinary cinema; it’s a fun film, which will allow audiences to laugh for two hours and have a good time. If I were to compare it to old-school cinema, I’d say it is a milder version of Kashinath films. It’s naughty, but not vulgar,” says Krishna, who is paired with Nishvika and Megha. “In a rom-com, conflict comes in only when there are more than two people involved. In most of my recent films, I’ve had at least two female leads. I am not saying that two heroines are a must, it can be two heroes also. Like, for instance, how Diganth’s character brings in a conflict in Mungaru Male,” Krishna reasons.

The question that remains, though, is why is Krishna doing only romantic films? “I have been offered umpteen thriller subjects in the last couple of years, but I have declined each of them. As an actor and as a member of the audience, I am not drawn to thrillers; they are a one-time watch. Once the mystery is solved, there is no repeat value and you may not return to watch it again in your entire lifetime. I want people to watch my films repeatedly, like, for instance, Love Mocktail 1, 2 or Lucky Man. With each repeat viewing, they might find something new that appeals to them, whether it is a joke, an emotion, etc. I believe that feel-good cinema always finds repeat audiences and that is why I have been choosing to be a part of romantic comedies,” he explains. In that sense, don’t rom-coms also come with limitations? “No, because the challenge lies in making laugh or cry and these are two things that are extremely difficult to achieve. A romantic drama will have a lot of intense scenes that are challenging for an artiste, whereas in a thriller, all you will be doing is running around trying to figure out the mystery,” adds Krishna.

But that doesn’t mean that he is averse to action flicks. “In the last three-four years, the kind of action films that have been coming out have all been made on massive scales. So, if you are taking up an action-based subject, it either has to have an incredible subject or has to be made on a big scale. You can’t do an action film on a medium budget anymore. I have not got a great subject or a film of great scale yet to warrant an action film. If it comes, I will, most definitely, take it up,” he signs off.