Visually, Bagheera is like Batman, which was intentional, says director Dr Suri

Kannada filmmaker Dr Suri’s passion lies in cinema, but just as much as he loves cinema, he’s also fanatic about comics and the superhero genre, with the Dark Knight, Batman, topping his list of favourites. So, when he was presented with the opportunity of doing a superhero film in Kannada, he drew on his love for the genre and jumped at it. Dr Suri, who was a long-time associate of KGF and Salaar maker Prashant Neel, developed a basic plot outline given by the latter, and wrote the screenplay and dialogues of Bagheera, an action-packed superhero flick, led by Roaring Star Sriimurali, which will be in theatres on October 31.

In a chat with OTTplay, Dr Suri talks about content consumption of Kannada film audiences, the comparisons of Bagheera with Hollywood superhero films and more

‘Kannada audiences will celebrate films if they are entertained’

I don’t buy into the ‘audiences are not supporting Kannada films’ narrative. Why should they? When they are paying to buy a ticket and if they are entertained with the film you have presented, they will appreciate and celebrate it. On the contrary, if they feel that their money is not well-spent, why will they support?

Having said that, we live in times when there is a very small window between OTT and theatres. Most people are either very busy or they don’t want to spend a lot of money going to a theatre, owing to which, they prefer to wait until films come to OTT. It’s either that, or the fact that they would rather spend on a movie outing only if it promises a larger-than-life big-screen experience – it’s difficult to exactly pin-point what drives people to make that trip to a theatre.

Also, the films that have released this year, belong to varied genres, that may not be for all audiences. For instances, a film like Bheema is targeted at a particular category of moviegoers. My mother or wife, may not like Bheema, but they will love Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi, whereas it will be the other way around if I were to ask my office staff or assistants in the direction team. Everybody loving a particular film is very rare, like, for instance, Mungaru Male, Duniya, Jogi, KGF or Kantara, etc.

‘Bagheera trailer was designed to prepare audiences’

The teaser and trailer of Bagheera gave audiences an idea that we had made a superhero film. I didn’t want to give them a different perspective about the movie. The teaser and trailer were designed to prepare audiences that when they come to the theatre, Bagheera will be a huge action-packed film.

Right now, audiences think that they’ve figured out what Bagheera is about based on the trailer, but there’s so much more to it, which will be revealed on October 31. The action is what you see in the trailer; there’s nothing about the emotional drama that is at the core of the story.

Director Dr Suri on Bagheera: ‘It is as much about action as it is...' 

‘Comparisons to Hollywood superhero flicks’

The response to the trailer of Bagheera, including the comparisons to superhero movies like Batman, among others, was expected. Honestly, I thought there would be far more negativity towards the film, but there hasn’t, which is rather encouraging. When I say negativity, I mean the comparison to the colour palette, editing and treatment of narrative of KGF. There were comments about the dark tone of the film. Since Prashant’s name is attached to the film, they were like, ‘How long will you keep doing katthale katthale katthale?’ I was expecting about 30-40% of the reactions to the trailer to be about this, but it is a lot less, which makes me happy.

In fact, during the trailer launch, I explained that there was no go-around for the night sequences, because Bagheera, the vigilante/superhero, is on the prowl only after dark. I have likened the character to Batman, which is probably the reason people are making such comparisons. I am a big Batman fan, and wanted Bagheera to look like a Batman film visually. In terms of characterisation, Bagheera is more like Daredevil, with a normal day job and crime-fighting at night, but there’s a reason I say it’s like Batman.

Bagheera trailer: Sriimurali’s action thriller is Kannada cinema’s answer to Daredevil? 

Unlike most superheroes, Bruce Wayne/Batman, does not have any superpowers and is entirely dependent on physical strength and the technology at his disposal. He spends time on R&D for his gadgets, which you get to see here too. The set-up is definitely like Batman, and I knew, by doing this, I’d be riding on a double-edged sword. I was prepared for this from the time I began developing the script and screenplay. I knew there was a risk involved – it will either be hit out of the park or get out, like a Sehwag innings; anything can happen. But I wanted to take the risk; give it our best, and come close to what we had envisioned. One thing that I am sure is that after watching Bagheera, people will not say it is cheap copy.