Srujan Lokesh on Sati Sulochana: My vision is that it becomes a text book of cinema for the Kannada film industry

Earlier this month, filmmaker P Sheshadri announced that he would be recreating Kannada cinema’s first-ever talkie movie, Sati Sulochana. The film, directed by YV Rao and starring Subbaiah Naidu, Tripuramba, R Nagendra Rao, Lakshmi Bai, among others, released in theatres on March 3, 1934. The plan for Sheshadri’s film is to have his version in theatres on March 3, 2026. For this, he has got Subbaiah Naidu’s grandson Srujan Lokesh on board, to not only play his grandfather, but to back the project as well.

Also read: 4 must-watch Srujan Lokesh films on OTT 

Speaking on the Gold Class with Mayuraa Raghavendra podcast, Navagraha actor Srujan said, “As Subbaiah Naidu’s grandson, I realized that there are so many things that I was unaware of about Sati Sulochana. For instance, in the film, they’d put up a 360-degree open roof set, for which the only source of light was the sun. All that they relied on was reflectors to ensure appropriate lighting was on the star cast and the background. When you hear of things like this, it makes one wonder whether we’ve really achieved anything in life,” he says.

The actor and talk show host adds that with the new Sati Sulochana, they are not recreating the film, per se, but the making of it. “What happened during the making of Sati Sulochana; that is what our film is about. It will be a period film set in the 1930s and will be about how the producer came onboard, how the team went about selecting the hero and heroine, the contributions of the music director, the release process and related hurdles, etc.,” explains Srujan.

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Given that it is almost a century since the film came out and that the team has long passed on, Sheshadri is currently in research mode, says Srujan. One of the most recent finds, he says, was that the filmmaker was able to track down the original script of Sati Sulochana, which had been preserved in the Bengaluru University. They are also relying on books about the film, Subbaiah Naidu and director YV Rao to get an idea of how Sati Sulochana came to be.

Srujan adds that every year on the occasion of the film’s release, it is celebrated as Vishwa Kannada Cinema Day, which, he thinks should be extended to also honour thespians from the industry. “Sati Sulochana has got all the importance it deserves; it’s time that we take it forward and do something more,” he says.

Sati Sulochana may be lost, but you can watch classics like Bhakta Prahlada and Bhoothayana Maga Ayyu, among others with OTTplay Premium