Exclusive! Dollu was to get a grand theatrical release, now it will get even bigger as a National Award winning film: Pavan Wadeyar

Filmmaker Pavan Wadeyar’s debut production, Dollu, directed by National Award winning director Sagar Puranik (Mahaan Hutatma), has been adjudged the Best Regional Film Kannada at the 68th National Film Awards. Pavan and Sagar are, of course, on cloud nine, the reality of it all yet to sink in for both men.

“I am beyond thrilled that my debut production has won not one, but two National Awards. The objective behind starting my production house was to support the making of offbeat cinema, given that I am too much of a commercial film maker and do not have the sensibilities to make realistic films. The production house was my wife Apeksha’s dream and she is the one who thought that we ought to collaborate with Sagar for our first venture. The awards are a validation of her instincts in picking a good subject for the screen,” says Pavan.

Dollu, is a fictional story about how urbanization affects a local Dollu Kunitha team, which then falls apart. Their fallout has other repercussions, when a yearly tradition is stopped because the group has disbanded. What the protagonist sets out to do to continue the tradition is what Dollu is about. The film has a mix of real Dollu Kunitha performers and actors and features extensive scenes of performances, so, it comes as no surprise that the second National award that it bagged is for audiography.

“Recording Dollu Kunitha in a studio is not ideal, because the reverberations of the drum beats will not be captured clearly. It is also very loud, so we thought it best to record it in a natural outdoor setting. Our sync sound recordist Jobin Jayan has done a phenomenal job with the audio of the Dollu Kunitha performances,” adds Pavan.

Even before the announcement of the National Awards, Pavan and Sagar had said that they were looking at giving Dollu a theatrical release and have been looking for a good window to bring it to audiences. “I always wanted to give Dollu a grand theatrical release, now, it will get even bigger,” beams Pavan, adding, “I don’t care if it makes any money or not at the box office, but I will now take it to audiences. Dollu has had a good film festival run and won several accolades and the National Award is the cherry on the cake. Now it is time for people to see what it is all about. I will, most definitely release the film in August.”

When we reached out to Sagar, the young filmmaker said that the news was yet to sink in. “I saw my name on TV, but I didn’t immediately realize what was happening. I am super happy, but also know that it puts pressure on me as a filmmaker, because I am now a two-time National Award-winning director, first in the non-fiction segment and now with Dollu. I want to make a massy commercial film next and hope that people don’t typecast me as an offbeat filmmaker because of my awards,” he signs off.