Roopa Rao has co-produced ‘Kenda’ with the film’s director, Sahadev Kelvadi
Roopa Rao is a rare breed of filmmaker who crafts films from the heart. Her tender, coming-of-age drama, Gantumoote (2019), went places and came as a breath of fresh air for the Kannada film industry which was plagued by a lack of female stories. Five years on, Roopa is gearing up for the release of Kenda (Ember), a film directed by her long-time associate and Gantumoote cinematographer Sahadev Kelvadi. The duo is producing the movie under the banner Ameyukti Studios.
Kenda is about the disenchanted youth of Bengaluru and the film explores disorganised crime through the eyes of lower-rung gangsters with big dreams. Bharath B V plays the protagonist, while Ritwik Kaikini is the music composer.
Excerpts from an interview:
How did you arrive at the story of ‘Kenda’?
Sahadev and I have known each other for almost 15 years as we started our cinema journey together. Since then, he has been talking about this concept. When we speak of rowdyism, we take only the well-known names. What about the foot soldiers, who are important to this spectrum? What brings them to this type of work? What’s their story? Who do they look up to? Do they have dreams? We wanted to understand this and that’s how Kenda happened. It’s close to Sahadev’s heart, and he has done it very sensibly. Even though it’s about rowdyism, it does not show blood needlessly.
Bharath B V in ‘Kenda’.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The film’s trailer hints at a political angle as well…
There was a time when we were growing up, we used to see a lot of bandhs, and curfews. Political unrest in the central and state was common. The film is set in that period without revealing the exact year. But there are hints; nobody uses cell phones, for example. The film is a political satire as well, albeit in a subtle way. When there is a riot, we see a lot of people.. but who are they? Some do it for money, while some don’t even know why they are involved in the riot.
Kenda is a character-driven film; through the protagonist’s character, we get to the different aspects of the plot as he goes through several situations.
ALSO READ:Sahadev Kelvadi on turning director with ‘Kenda’
‘Gantumoote’ was from the point of view of a woman. How was it making a film driven by a male character?
As important as it is to tell stories from the female gaze, it is also important to tell stories that aren’t masculine from the male gaze. How masculinity is defined and questioned makes a lot of difference in male-led movies. Writers must know that men can be grey. It’s a unique approach to writing a protagonist. In our film, he (the protagonist) is a common man. If you call him a hero, you would expect him to be a saviour. Here, the story is the ‘hero’ and we have explored the aspect of aspiration. In the early 2000s, when the BPOs and IT companies entered Bengaluru, many felt a public sector job was a distant dream and if you didn’t know English, you couldn’t think of such opportunities.
A still from ‘Kenda’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement.
What’s the challenge of marketing a small-scale, content-oriented movie in today’s box-office-obsessed atmosphere?
What happened with Lucia 11 years ago cannot happen now. The grammar of social media has changed. Back then, he (Pawan Kumar, director of Lucia) was blogging and writing on Facebook. Now, it’s all about Reels. You need to promote your content in 30 seconds, of which the first 10 seconds have to catch people’s attention. Filmmakers must learn how to make Reels as well now. If you can spend so much that your product can be seen everywhere — and it is good — then the film will work. If your movie is good but if you aren’t able to spend money on promotions, then it will perish.
When are you getting back to the director’s seat?
I am writing currently and the official announcement should come out in September. I have also signed another project that’s due next year and I can’t wait to share it with the world!
Kenda is scheduled to hit the screens on July 26
