A filmmaker should not be judged based on a franchise, says KGF director Prashant Neel

Prashant Neel is quite media shy, but in the rare occasion that he chooses to break his silence, he is immensely candid. With his much-anticipated KGF: Chapter 2 set for release this week, the filmmaker has been travelling across the country with his team to promote the Yash-starrer. During one such media interaction, the filmmaker was asked about his background and his standing in the industry today.

Speaking to an online news channel, Prashant addressed the fact that he had not assisted anyone before embarking on his first directorial, Ugramm, which he also produced. Prashant learnt about cinema by watching movies, which, looking back, he believes is not a good story to tell. “Everybody has to work under at least three directors. You can never learn cinema from anybody. You can never learn what to do, but you can learn what not to do. I did not know the practicality of filmmaking and that is why I struggled with Ugramm. I did not associate with the right people, and did not have the right backing. But the biggest villain was me. I did not have practical knowledge of cinema,” he was quoted as saying.

As for his new-found fame, since KGF: Chapter 1 became a big phenomenon, Prashant said that measuring him based on just one film was not the right way. He cited the example of his favourite filmmakers Ram Gopal Varma and Subhash Ghai, both of who have a vast body of work behind them. “Even Upendra made Tarle Nan Maga and then went and make Om, and that is the mark of a true director,” he said, adding that for the rest of the world he is only one film old, as most people outside of Karnataka would not have seen his debut movie, Ugramm. Prashant said that he needs to have different movies under his belt before he can be called a director who can be relied on. “I will have to do a film in another genre next. If I prove myself, then I can be put in the league of other big filmmakers. But today, I am only one film old. I have told people half a story and am now presenting the second half,” he said.