Exclusive! Rathnan Prapancha is the first film I liked based only on the narration: Reba Monica John

Bengaluru gal and Bigil star Reba Monica John was supposed to debut in Kannada cinema with the Rishi-starrer Sakalakala Vallabha, but with that film delayed, her second, Rathnan Prapancha took the lead and is set to release on Amazon Prime Video on October 22. The film, the trailer of which has been widely appreciated, is a project Reba hoped would be hers even before she was approached for it. In a conversation with OTTplay, she tells us more…

“I remember seeing a poster of Rathnan Prapancha before I was even a part of it and being intrigued by it. I was curious about who was doing it and figured it was a great team; so the next question was, how do I get in touch with them? Around the same time, I got a call for a new Kannada film, which, at that point I did not know was for Rathnan Prapancha. Rohit (Padaki), the director, gave me a narration, which I absolutely fell in love with. This was, perhaps, the first film that I liked solely because of the narration. For other films, I would have to really break it down and analyze the characterization to be convinced about doing them. After working on what should have been my Kannada film debut, Sakalakala Vallabha (which was taking time), I knew that if I wanted to further my career in Sandalwood, the next project would have to be really good, or I had to wait for the first one to release and see how it works for me. With Rathnan Prapancha, which was untitled at the time, I was happy with the narration and the character offered to me was fulfilling for me as an artiste, because I haven’t been able to do a full-fledged role of someone who was driving the narrative in a long time. These factors were enough for me to be a part of it. It was only later that Rohit showed me the poster and I realized that I was, after all, going to be in the film that I wanted to be in. I was meant to be a part of Rathnan Prapancha,” says Reba, adding sheepishly that when she met Rohit, she wasn’t aware of his earlier work, Dayavittu Gamanisi. “I still haven’t seen it, but based on my first interaction with him I could tell that he is a fantastic story-teller and someone to look out for. He is a great visionary,” she says.

Yet, while she was in love with the story, the role and the team, the actress was skeptical about shooting for it because it was to be done during the pandemic. “The narration was almost at the peak of the pandemic and lockdowns and I wasn’t very comfortable starting off just then. In cinema, social distancing doesn’t exactly work, because you tend to have multiple people around you, be it for your hair or makeup. Also, shooting at a time when you are scared of falling ill, was, no doubt, quite a ride, but it was also an eye-opener. Making films, I realized, was no more as easy as it used to be, what with the number of people on set reduced drastically, and having to do some of your personal things on your own without help. Most importantly, doing a film that involved extensive travel amid pandemic restrictions was quite a task. Despite all these challenges, we managed to make a film that is so beautiful and I am really proud of the team for that,” Reba elaborates.

In the film, Reba plays a journalist, Mayuri, who is trying to do create a buzz and get a good break. “There is a bit of struggle and that is when she finds out about a particular story that could just change her career around. Initially, she has selfish motives, which is fair, but in the whole process, she tries to give life to somebody else through this story. How things around her and the experiences because of it change her as a person is the crux of my arc,” she explains, adding, “The whole point of the film is the journey that she takes forward because of something she wanted to do. How the revelations in this journey change them as human beings is what the film is about.”

Working on the film, which includes nine central characters, was a blast, says Reba. “I was able to meet and work with some of the most loved artistes of Kannada cinema and each of their characters have been written so brilliantly that you will fall in love with each of them. Also, in the journey, we were travelling and experiencing different cultures together, which brought all of us closer to each other,” she says.