Kabzaa star Upendra on KGF 2, Kantara effect on Kannada cinema: 'When we grow bigger, everyone gets opportunity...'

Actor-filmmaker Upendra's latest movie is titled Kabzaa. And going by the recent track record of the Kannada film industry, movies that have titles starting with the letter 'K' have gone on to achieve nationwide fame. And the cast and crew of Kabzaa are seemingly wishing that that 'K' factor also works wonders for their movie. 

In the latest interview, Upendra addressed the growing popularity of the Kannada film industry in the wake of the success of KGF: Chapter 2 and Kantara. A Kannada movie made at the cost of Rs 100 crore or more might have sounded impossible a couple of years ago. However, in the aftermath of the growing popularity of Kannada cinema, it has become a reality. 

The budget of Kabzaa is said to be more than Rs 100 crore. And Upendra believes that more than stars, the Kannada film industry's growth has helped its technicians. "The advantage of growing bigger is that everyone gets an opportunity to show talent. Take, for example, cameraman A. J. Shetty. This film has given him such a launch pad. He had already done a film called Kiss. But, in this film, he was able to showcase his full talent. He got everything he needed, from lights to camera filters. This film is a good example of how the talents of technicians can attract people," Upendra told NewsFirst Kannada. 

Upendra is a technician before he became a movie star. And he has not forgotten his roots. He has been quite generous in his praise for the technical team behind Kabzaa. "You only see the work of technicians (AJ Shett, art director Shivakumar, composer Ravi Basrur) in the movie. You're in awe of its making. That's what we want. And all credit goes to director Chandru," he added. 

Upendra opined that talented technicians were as important as stars for the wide success of a movie. "When we value technicians as much as superstars such big movies will happen. We should learn that fact. The medium of cinema is technically strong now. We need talented technicians to make the most out of it. I'm not famous in Bombay (Mumbai). Maybe a few of my pictures could have been dubbed in Hindi. But, this movie is getting such hype there majorly because of the technicians and Chandru," he remarked. 

Written and directed by R Chandru, the film is getting ready to open in cinemas on March 17. The film also stars Sudeep, Shivarajkumar and Shriya Saran.