Brat director Shashank: If you work with a hero repeatedly, you have to show him differently each time

In his 10 film-old career, Kannada director Shashank has done three films with Krishna Ajai Rao (Krishnan Love Story , Krishna Leela and Thayige Thakka Maga ), so he’s no stranger to working with one hero repeatedly. The filmmaker, whose last release was Kousalya Supraja Rama with Darling Krishna in the lead, has collaborated with the actor yet again on a film called Brat, filming of which is nearly complete.

Shashank: Every film I do has to feel new to me

While Kousalya Supraja Rama had Krishna’s character turning over a new leaf after years of being an arrogant male chauvinist, in Brat he is literally a brat. Considering that Kousalya Supraja Rama was a successful venture, why did he choose to go with an action-oriented subject for their next collaboration? Speaking to Doordarshan Chandana, Shashank explained, “For starters, every film I do has to feel new to me. If I keep doing the same kind of films over and over again, I will get bored. I have always been clear that whatever I do will always be drastically different from what I did in the film just prior to that.”

When he then decides to repeat a hero in back-to-back films, which he’s never before done (all of Ajai’s films were spaced out), he needed to ensure that there is no question of comparison between either movies. “After doing Kousalya Supraja Rama and now Brat, I had to be absolutely sure that his characterisation in both films is vastly different. If I’d chosen to present him as a jack-of-all trades boy-next-door good guy, even if I have a different story, the film may not seem different. That can be done only when the characterisation is also different and for that you need a change of genre,” he adds.

The filmmaker believes that he’s been able to crack a story and character that will connect with audiences today, who prefer their heroes with a shade of grey. However, in keeping with his trademark of also including pertinent social messages in his films, Shashank has incorporated that too in Brat, albeit in entertaining fashion, he says.