An Interview With Director S Krishna
S. Krishna is an Indian cinematographer & film director who primarily works in Kannada films. He gave a new dimension for cinematography through his breath taking visuals in Mungaru Male which is considered as a romantic cult classic. His upcoming Kannada film is Pailwan which will have 9 other languge versions.
*The budget of Pailwan has crossed Rs 45 crores. Had you planned the film this big? *If we had a final budget in mind, we might have had to compromise. So we did not have a limit. We do not know how much more it will require. That is one of the reasons we are not finalizing on the deal for selling rights for which we are getting never before heard offers. *What offers do you have? *We have been offered Rs 30 crores for the all-India TV rights (for all languages). This is the biggest offer ever for a film made in Kannada language.
*What was the need for such a huge budget? The 1st is the requirement of the script. It is a film with a huge canvas. Secondly, GST has made every industry equal. We do not have the luxury of subsidy. There was a little leeway when there were audiences who would choose a film whose ticket cost lesser. Now every film cost the same. We have to have Kannada films that compare favorably with all the high budget films of Hindi or others. We have to give justice to the paying audiences.
*Is it a big risk you are taking with your 1st ever home production? *Making a film with a superstar is never a risk. And if you do good films, audiences will come to you. With films with superstars, you are guaranteed a minimum safety. That is why they are superstars. Be it audiences coming to theatres or TV telecast rights, you are assured of a return. As a film maker you need to enhance it. I did Hebbuli with Sudeep before this. It did great business. How do you enhance that? It is by adding more value to the film.
*There have been films on wrestling in Hindi recently. There will be obvious comparisons with your film Pailwan. Salman Khan’s Sultan & Aamir Khan’s Dangal released the same year within months of each other. Both were about wrestling & therefore similar. But both were also completely different. Audiences accepted both the films. It is good that the market for films on the subject is known to the audiences now. I am sure comparisons cannot be avoided. But those films give us the confidence that there is an audience for them.
*So what is so different about Pailwan? For the Kannada audience, this is one of the rare films with a superstar doing a sports film. Apart from that for every audience, a sports film gives real emotions. These are universal emotions. You know in the very beginning what will happen in the end. But you still want to find out how the hero achieves it. In sports even losing teaches us how to win. It is one of the purest emotions that are used in every sports film.
*Why did you think of having so many dubbed versions of the film in so many languages? The 1st & foremost reason for this is Sudeep. He is known everywhere. But as Kannada film makers we have not used his potential in other languages. If we start now, who knows what will happen in 2 to 3 years. The 2nd reason is because this is a sports film. We are not behind money. But we have a story that we think will work everywhere. We want to show them what we have made here.
*Can you let us know more about Pailwan in detail! *Paiwan is directed by me Film & my wife Swapna Krishna is producing this film under our home production banner namely RRR Productions. Paiwan stars Sudeep, Suniel Shetty, Aakanksha Singh, Kabir Duhan Singh, Sharath Lohitashva and others, music is by Arjun Janya, stunt choreographers are Larnell Stowell from Hollywood & Ravi Verma. Bollywood’s star – actor Suniel Shetty is making his Kannada debut with this film. For the 1st time in his career, Sudeep is sporting a bare body as a wrestler & a boxer. He went to gym for the 1st time ever in his career. The budget of the film has already crossed Rs 45 crores. The film will be in 9 languages including Kannada & will have a theatrical release in 7 to 8 of them. In fact Pailwan is getting bigger with each passing day. The entire film has been shot in over 20 specially erected sets. From boxing rings & stadiums to wrestling “akhadas” to entire villages, the sets at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad is already attracting curious visitors even when the shooting is going on. The film is being dubbed & released in several Indian languages. Apart from Kannada the film will release in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Bhojpuri & Bengali. The film will also be dubbed in Hindi for television. There are plans to dub it in Punjabi too. In total, the film will be available in 9 Indian languages. It will be for the 1st time ever that any Indian film will have so many versions.
