Exclusive! Home Minister is a content-driven film that’s meant for family audiences, especially ladies: Upendra

The actor-filmmaker plays a homemaker in the film that is releasing in theatres on April 1.

Upendra

Thirty years ago, Kannada cinema got a new and promising filmmaker when Upendra transitioned from assisting actor-filmmaker Kashinath and serving as writer, to making his own films with Tarle Nan Maga. Between 1992 and 1999 there were a flurry of Upendra directorials, like Shhh!, Om, A and Upendra, among others, after which the actor in him took centre stage until 2010’s Super. Five years later, he made Uppi 2 and this year, he will embark on his latest directorial, the title of which remains cryptic. He’s also been busy with his acting commitments, one of which, the much-delayed Home Minister, releases in theatres tomorrow.

“Thirty years feels like a flash of 30 seconds. I still remember making my first film. When you do something unique, people will turnaround and look at you, but doing it consistently for 30 years is difficult. These have been years of hard work. Looking back at all that I have achieved, as an actor or filmmaker, I sometimes wonder if I really did all of this. These 30 years have not only been about Upendra the actor or director, it is a combination of factors that allowed me to get this far,” he says, adding, “Right now, as I am ready to embark on my new directorial, I feel like a debutant. There’s a learning and an unlearning that comes with making a film. I have to reset myself to zero and forget everything from the past to learn something – it’s like starting with a blank slate. If you try to retain everything, there will be no new learning.”

His approach to filmmaking, says Upendra, has always been about putting himself in the shoes of the audience to try and gauge what they would probably like to see. “This is something that every filmmaker should follow. As a member of the audience, I have certain expectations from start-to-finish of a film and that will give me a clear idea of what to present when I make a film. Having said that, though, I know that it is impossible to satisfy all kinds of audiences because expectations vary from person. But there are certain elements that affect the subconscious mind of every person the same way, be it fear, emotions, humour, etc. which is what I need to tap in, while also ensuring that I am not repeating myself as a filmmaker.” says Upendra. This process, he adds, is time consuming, which is why we don’t see him make movies as regularly as he used to in his early days.

The poster that he released to announce his latest directorial has been scrutinized from top-to-bottom and corner-to-corner, with fans stating that Upendra will touch upon subjects like technology, civilization, religion, etc. and that his character appears to be like the Kalki avatar. Thrilled at the reception, Upendra says that it is this discussion that he was aiming for. Tight-lipped about the film, all he says is, “My idea was to get people to think, and involve themselves in the subject, and the job is half done with the poster. When they see the film they will realize that I want the same level of involvement there too. I will go on floors with my directorial in May, after completing my acting commitments for R Chandru’s Kabzaa in April.”

As for Home Minister, this is much-delayed film that’s finally seeing the light of day. While he’s paired with Vedhika, the film also stars Tanya Hope and Suman Ranganathan in pivotal roles. “There were several delays and issues with completing the film. Even though the film has an interesting subject, I was clear with the team that I would take a call on whether to promote it or not only after seeing the first cut. It was only after I was convinced that the film has turned out well despite the challenges during the making (the director reportedly had a massive health issue and could not shoot several portions, leaving it to associates from his team, etc.) that I set out to publicise it,” he says candidly, adding, “Home Minister is a drama that I believe will appeal to family audiences, especially women. In this day and age of hard-core commercial cinema, it is refreshing to see content-oriented films too. The reason I did this film is because content meant for women was mostly being made only for television and Home Minister was doing it with cinema. Normally, when you think of a ‘home minister’ the lady of the house comes to mind. But here, the hero takes on the home-maker responsibilities, while his wife is the bread-winner. And yet, he is also just as much the hero as he should be. Why he decides to be the home minister forms the crux of the story.”

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