KP NANJUNDI
No to financing, yes to producing

AFTER a nerve-racking experience as a financier, KP Nanjundi has decided to quit financing Kannada films. “I shall only produce films henceforth,” Nanjundi announced in Bangalore, recently.
The reasons prompting the massive step is the serious allegations made by producer P Dhanraj, director-actor Thriller Manju and director GK Mudduraj. Nanjundi claims he is yet to get the money he had given to GK Mudduraj for the Kannada film, Kanna Muchchale, and is seeking the intervention of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce in the matter. Nanjundi, a goldsmith by profession turned financier first before becoming a producer. He produced three Kannada films - Sididedda Gandu, Simbadri and Tarikereyerimele, all of which crashed miserably at the b-o.
He also financed a P Dhanraj film, and claims to have recovered the money with interest after a long delay. In the case of the Thriller Manju film he financed, he has dragged the issue to court for justice. Speaking to the media last week, at Green House Restaurant, Bangalore, Nanjundi released the pukka papers relating to the Dhanraj episode. To begin with, he disclosed he was a prompt tax-payer, and that all his dealings thus far were clean and above board.
On the long pending remake rights of Unnedthil Ennai Koduthen in his custody, Nanjundi explained that producer Dhanraj had refused to return the loan he had taken. While taking the initial loan of Rs 5.5 lakh producer Dhanraj had entered a sale agreement and not pledged the remake rights of Unnedthil Ennai Koduthain elsewhere, claimed Nanjundi, furnishing the relevant papers.
“A financier is treated like a God while a loan is sought, but once the changes hands, he becomes a demon in no time,” says Nanjundi. He alleges that producer Dhanraj misused the goodwill he enjoyed in the industry to create a sympathy wave for himself in the producers’ association and film chamber. “At a crucial meeting with all the big names in the industry, I agreed to bow to their pressure on moral grounds. After a month, a sum of Rs 7.19 lakh was returned to me as full and final settlement, Curiously, the money came not from Dhanraj, but from Sa Ra Govindu, who had got hold of the remake rights,” says Nanjundi. However, it remains to be seen whether Govindu will eventually make the film, for he is a staunch Kannada language activist, and thus, an unlikely producer for a remake film. “The crook Dhanraj has spoiled my reputation,” rues Nanjundi.
In the Thriller Manju case, he says he will not accept any attempt for a mediation from the industry. “The case is in court, and let the court decide,” he says.
Nanjundi says he will soon producer three films. The first to roll will be directed by S Narayan, and have music by Hamsalekha. Among the stars being touted as its hero is Shiv Rajkumar.