PremiumKotee director Param did not have Dhananjaya in mind when he wrote the film
Kotee is former TV honcho Param’s debut directorial, which will be in theatres on June 14
Last Updated: 10.22 PM, Jun 07, 2024
Parameshwar Gundkal, better known in showbiz circles as Param, went from being a print media journalist to running the day-to-day affairs of a popular Kannada general channel to now, filmmaker. He is gearing up for the release of his debut directorial, Kotee, which will be in theatres on June 14. The film has Daali Dhananjaya in the lead, but this was not a casting decision that Param had made while writing his script.
Speaking to Galatta Plus, Param said that he’d come to a stage in his TV career at which he’d stopped enjoying what he was doing. And that is when he began toying with the idea of writing a script for a film that he’d direct at some point. Around the time that Param had finished his script and was looking at ending his TV stint, he’d met Dhananjaya to discuss the post-theatrical rights business of the latter’s home production Badava Rascal.
Something about the way Dhananjaya conducted himself during this meeting stuck with Param, who then went back to the actor wondering if he’d be okay with a script narration. They met over a 3-hour narration, during which Param told Dhananjaya the entire story with all its details. “It looked like Dhananjaya enjoyed the narration and that’s how he came onboard the film,” said Param.
Interestingly, Dhananjaya is not a fan of lengthy narrations, preferring a bound script that he reads and then reverts to film teams about whether he will do it or not. With Param his worry was about how to react in case the narration was not to his liking, as the former had stood by Dhananjaya at a time that he was desperate for help. Param had trusted the actor and initiated the business with the post-theatrical rights of Badava Rascal. But then Dhananjaya liked what he heard and the rest is history.