Edagaiye Apaghatakke Karana’s Diganth: I’ve been unfortunate with my films…

A little over a year ago, when OTTplay spoke to actor Diganth about his lineup of films, he was quite excited about the projects and roles. He had films with Rakshit Shetty’s Paramvah Studios, Rishab Shetty Films, KRG Studios, etc., but the outcome was far from satisfactory. There was Bachelor Party, Laughing Buddha, The Judgement, Marigold and Powder – films that created no buzz at the box office, but had Diganth in roles that received praise.

Currently busy promoting his next, Edagaiye Apaghatakke Karana, in which Diganth plays a left-hander, had a quick chat with OTTplay about his recent film graph and t he current state of affairs in the Kannada film industry. According to industry trackers, 2024’s Max and UI were the last two films that earned in the double digit crores, with only 2 films (Choo Mantar and Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2) this year drawing some crowds.

Looking back, Diganth, who had told us in January last year that his lineup of films was exactly how he’d envisioned his career would be when he turns 40, does not have much to cheer about. “It’s kind of disappointing, because when I watched some of these films at their premieres, I couldn’t digest that they didn’t come out the way we wanted them to. I’ve been a little unfortunate, I must say,” Diganth quips.

Diganth: Even if a scene is not convincing, I give it my best

If one were to isolate Diganth’s performances from each of them, though, they’ve actually been quite good. “That’s quite intentional,” he says and adds, “Sometimes, during the making of a film, you get to know whether it is on track or not, so, even if a particular scene is not convincing, you give it your best and only think about how to make it interesting.”

Also read: Edagaiye Apaghatakke Karana’s Diganth: When I injured my eye, the actress responsible did not even visit me in the hospital 

But if all of this effort is going in vain, what with audiences not making a beeline for theatres these days, what’s the point? “Movies are like gambling; you can’t be 100% sure of anything. People may like it – take, for instance, the Hindi film Go Goa Gone, which, in my opinion was really stupid, but audiences loved it because it had something new. So, you never know which one is going to be lapped up or not. For that matter, I believe that Shakhahaari should have done well in theatres, but it didn’t,” says Diganth.

The actor adds that his understanding of the current situation is that people are going to theatres only when it is a Rs 100 cr budget cinema. “Anything less than that, they just look at the poster and then wait for it to drop on OTT and watch it at home,” says Diganth, adding, “I feel bad for producers. Every month we are losing investors; they are not coming forward to put money into these smaller films, which is worrisome and disappointing.”

The trickle-down effect, explains Diganth, can be felt on film sets, with fewer cameras and related equipment being hired, fewer unit members, among others. “Eventually, the number of films being made will reduce. I don’t know how to rectify this problem, but this is the reality now and I am going with the flow,” he says.