From SSE's Soma to Dinoo Saavkaar - Ramesh Indira is back as a menacing villain in Kotee

If you thought Kannada filmmaker Ramesh Indira’s role as Soma in Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A and Side B was equal parts creepy and menacing, wait till you see him in debutant director Parameshwar Gundkal’s Kotee. Ramesh is the main antagonist Dinoo Saavkaar in the Daali Dhananjaya-led film and if the teaser that came out today is anything to go by, for the filmmaker-turned-actor, this role is yet another that will stay with audiences long after they leave movie halls.

Ramesh and Param have a long-standing association, back from their days of trying to find a foothold in television programming, writing for daily soaps. When Param then wanted Ramesh to act in his film, he didn’t immediately offer the role, but asked the latter to grow out his moustache and beard and send him a weekly progress report. A couple of months later, when Ramesh was toying with the idea of taking off the facial fuzz he got a call from Param, asking him to shoot an ‘audition video’ in whatever state he was in, irrespective of the location.

Dhananjaya – Kotee represents every common man and that’s what fascinated me 

Ramesh was near a busy junction at that point and told Param as much that the sound would drown out his voice, but the latter insisted and then gave him the role of Dinakar Sampaje, aka Dinoo Saavkaar. The role, said Ramesh at the film’s teaser launch, is well-written, while sources say that Dinoo Saavkaar is just as important as Dhananjaya’s Kotee in the bigger scheme of things.

Most of Ramesh’s scenes in the film are with Dhananjaya, a working experience that was quite memorable, given how easy-going the leading man was on set, making all his co-stars feel extremely comfortable. In the teaser, Dinoo Saavkaar is referred to as the biggest fraud in all of Janatha City, and yet, Kotee ends up striking a deal with him, which has disastrous consequences for the latter. How he finds his way out of this forms the crux of the tale.

Kotee teaser – Dhananjaya is back with a bang, say netizens 

The Param directorial is Jio Studios’ first Kannada production and will be in theatres on June 14. The film also stars Rangayana Raghu, Moksha Kushal and Tara, among others.