Exclusive! Rathnan Prapancha is a hardcore Kannada film with a universal subject: Rohit Padaki

About a month ago, the team of the Kannada film Rathnan Prapancha had given audiences a sneak peek into it with the release of the trailer. The short glimpse into the crazy world of the protagonist, Rathnakara went viral with the who’s who of Sandalwood praising the team. But just as suddenly as it came out, the trailer vanished from the online world, only to re-emerge in the run-up to the film’s world premiere on Amazon Prime Video on October 22, to even more widespread applause.

Director Rohit Padaki, of course, is elated at the response and excited to bring his tale to audiences. In a chat with OTTplay, he explains the world of Rathnakara a wee bit more. “Rathnan Prapancha is about the world of the protagonist Rathnakara, but it is just as much about the people who come into his life. This is a film about soul-searching, relationships that are at stake, and the realization that many of us have lost touch with reality. This is portrayed through sub-plots involving other characters in Rathnakara’s life. In fact, there are about nine major characters in this tale and there are sub-plots for each of them, which merge at some point to become about Rathnakara. In effect, it is about Rathnakara’s journey of life, with and through these people, and how he comes out a better person, in the process, is the major plot point,” says Rohit.

The casting for these nine characters, of course, have been major talking points, as actors like Shruthi, Ravishankar Gowda, Anu Prabhakar and, most importantly Umashree are a part of this world. “Casting Umashree as Rathnakara’s mother was an instant decision; if you remember her as Puttamalli from Putnanja, you will know exactly why. We wanted a mother who is perky and relatable; any member of the audience had to feel that she is like his/her mother, on her toes, telling us what to do. The play here was on middle-class sentiments that most of us have grown up with, listening to our mothers. I needed a face that connects with the middle-class audience and Umashree was the best bet, even though she had been away from cinema for 5-6 years in pursuit of a political career,” he explains, adding, “As for Dhananjaya, he and I have been friends for a long time, so I know that he can fit into any character. He is a natural actor.”

Anu Prabhakar, says Rohit, was meant to be a part of his earlier film Dayavittu Gamanisi, but the actress’ schedule at the time didn’t permit it. “I’ve always wanted to work with her and this time there was no issue,” says the filmmaker.

One actor that Rohit is immensely impressed with is Pramod, whom he cast after watching Premier Padmini. “Pramod has a special spark in him. I had a character that required an actor who can really act well and Pramod is someone who can pull it off. He has a bright future; I sincerely believe that he will be in the limelight in the next 2-3 years. As his pair in the film, we wanted someone who would fit into the shoes of a village girl from north Karnataka, and cast Vainidhi Jagdish in the role. She is, in fact, very urban, and quite the Bengaluru girl in the way she speaks too, but I thought that she could pull off the role,” explains Rohit.

As for the heroine, Reba, there was no second thought once the team saw her in Bigil. “She is very natural in her style of acting and this role demanded someone who could act and not just be there for the glamour element. It helped that although Reba doesn’t speak Kannada, she knows a fair bit of it on account of being from Bengaluru. She could understand whatever I asked of her and emoted accordingly. But we had to extensively sit with her about the pronunciations of the words she would say as part of her lines,” he adds.

The cast apart, the locations also play a major part in the narrative, considering that the story is about a journey. “Before the shoot, we had to travel a lot to get the locations right, one of which was Kashmir. At the time, we were scared to shoot there, based on the socio-political situation there, but the weather and how the valley looks when snow-clad was just too tempting. It wasn’t easy, though, because she shot in sub-zero conditions and literally freezing. The weather was so harsh that there were flight cancellations and some of the artistes could not reach on time. But we soldiered through it and the beauty of it will for all to see when the film releases on Friday. It is truly heaven on earth,” says Rohit.

Was it a conscious choice to shoot in Kashmir at that time of the year? “Yes, we wanted to show Kashmir like never before in Kannada films. It was about shooting a story there and if there is no snowfall, it doesn’t look like Kashmir, it could be any other place. It had to be Kashmir at its most beautiful yet harsh time,” explains the filmmaker, adding, “Normally filmmakers head to Kashmir to shoot songs, we didn’t do that.”

Now that the film is only days away from its date with audiences, how would Rohit sum it up? “Rathnan Prapancha is a hardcore Kannada film, which you can sense in every frame, dialogue. Often, when I watch a film, I am left with this feeling that it could have been done in any other language. Why is it that people today are going ga-ga over Malayalam films? It is because their stories are rooted in their culture, language, the locations used, etc. Rathnan Prapancha is one of those films in which we have tried to emulate that formula,” he reasons. But the film is coming on Prime Video, so the expectation will be that it has a universal subject that everyone can relate to. How does being a hardcore Kannada film fit into this scheme of things? “It is a universal subject with a hardcore Kannada theme. For instance, it is like Kumbalangi Nights, which was a story playing out in a small town in Kerala, but had universal appeal. Rathnan Prapancha will strike a similar chord,” he signs off.