King Kichcha: Throwback to when Kiccha Sudeep said direction is not a necessity

On the eve of his birthday, Kannada star Kiccha Sudeep announced his return to direction with King Kichcha, a gangster film with the tagline, ‘God forgives, I don’t’. The film comes a good decade after Sudeep last directed Maanikya. In fact, not long ago, Sudeep had told OTTplay that direction was not high up on his list of priorities, as there were a lot of filmmakers lining up with scripts specifically written for him.

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Talking to us prior to the release of his last film Vikrant Rona, when asked about his plans as a director, Sudeep had said, “There are a lot of people writing for me. There was a time when I was waiting for that and when it is happening now, I need to cater to their needs. I don’t see direction as a necessity; it’s a passion. When there are fabulous directors, why should I not look favourably at them? Probably, the day the talk veers towards asking me why I don’t direct myself instead of doing certain films, then it makes sense. Right now, there are good dreamers, creative people around me. Irrespective of who I work with, I am equally involved in all aspects of the filmmaking, so it doesn’t change anything for me.”

In fact, Sudeep had also said that if and when he does return to direction, he would only do it with a film that he stars in and not with anyone from the new crop of actors. “I would direct myself. I am the new crop, why should I consider myself old. I am still giving everyone competition. Many of the new people want to direct me, so why should I direct them? So, it’s a beautiful thought that I am able to cater myself. It’s not an arrogant answer. They still write for me, so in that process if insist on direction, I am putting myself down as an actor,” he had said.

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So, what changed between July 2022, and September 2023? Sudeep has done all of one film since, #Kichcha46, which is still in production. His earlier announced collaborations with Anup Bhandari – Billa Ranga Baasha and Ashwatthama – are on the backburner; there’s no news of the film with Venkat Prabhu and Nandakishore is currently busy with Vrushabha, starring Mohanlal. Has the talk veered towards asking him why he wasn’t directing himself instead of collaborating with certain filmmakers?