PremiumEvery film cannot be a pan-India project, like, my next, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello: Rakshit Shetty
Even his own directorial, Richard Anthony, is too rooted in the regional ethos of the western coast and will work in Malayalam or Marathi, at the most, beside Kannada
Last Updated: 08.39 AM, Jun 12, 2022
As a writer, director and producer, Rakshit Shetty is very clear that every film cannot be a pan-India project. So much so that he believes that if a movie is started with the intention of taking it pan-India, it is the wrong route to take. His goal, as an actor or filmmaker is to express himself (his ideas), but it can’t be aimed at the whole nation from the word go. Instead, he says, the aim should be to present that expression and then see if it has the capability to travel elsewhere. If there is a market, where this expression will be valued, he reckons that not exploring it would be a crime.
Speaking to Bollywood Bubble during the promotions of 777 Charlie, which is currently in theatres across the globe, Rakshit reiterated that it is not prudent to keep the pan-India audience in mind and then start accepting or writing projects. “As an actor, I would want to play different roles. If I start thinking that every role has to be pan-India, then I am restricting myself. I can only do certain kind of roles, but then, as an actor, I want to explore myself,” he was quoted as saying.
On that note, Rakshit adds that his next, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (SSE), directed by Hemanth M Rao, with who he had done Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu earlier, will not be a pan-India project. However, given the exposure that 777 Charlie has gotten him as an actor and filmmaker, Rakshit reckons that there will be an audience outside of Karnataka that would want to watch his next and that they will do so in the original language, Kannada, with subtitles. SSE, he says, is not a film that needs to be dubbed in Hindi, even if it is, it will be for the TV audience and not as a theatrical release.
Even his own directorial, Richard Anthony, produced by Hombale Films (the makers of biggies like KGF and Salaar, among others) is a very regional specific film that does not have pan-India appeal. The subject of the film only covers the West Coast, and goes up to Mumbai, so, at the most, it may get a Marathi version or even a Malayalam one. The subject, he says, will not work in, say, Tamil Nadu.