Hemanth M Rao is a horror fan, but it’s a genre he won’t make a film in

Kannada filmmaker Hemanth M Rao made his debut in 2016 with Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, a drama about an elderly man with Alzheimer’s going missing. The film starred Rakshit Shetty in the lead, along with Anant Nag, Shruti Hariharan and Vasishta N Simha. His next was a thriller called Kavaludaari with Rishi and Anant Nag in the lead, about a traffic cop trying to solve a murder mystery.

The filmmaker is currently prepping for the release of his third as director, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello, which he has made in two parts, each about 2 hours and 15-20 minutes long. He has reunited with Rakshit Shetty yet again for the film, which has music by MR Charanraj, who also scored for both of Hemanth’s earlier movies. Sapta Sagaradaache Ello, according to Hemanth, is an intense love story that also stars Rukmini Vasanth and Chaithra J Achar.

During a recent promotional conversation on social media, Hemanth was asked about the genres of films he prefers making. Interestingly, Hemanth did not mention a favourite, but pointed out one that he isn’t keen on exploring. Turns out, the filmmaker is a self-professed fan of horror movies, but he will not make a scary film. Hemanth reckons that in his career he may make around 10-15 movies and his hope is to be able to ensure that each of them belongs to a different genre.

As for the actors he would like to collaborate with, Hemanth waxed eloquent about his love for Rakshit, and that given a choice he would work with the actor-filmmaker repeatedly. Rakshit, he says, not only has the most expressive eyes, but is also able to deliver pages worth of lines after just a glance. Sapta Sagaradaache Ello’s first part, which the team has called Side A, will be in theatres on September 1, with the second, Side B, set to follow 50 days later on October 20.