Nothing can make a producer happy today

Popularity and prestige are overflowing for the badshah of Kannada cinema, Upendra. He is working 20 hours a day to complete a dream project of his life. He has been contemplating making a film with his own money. Of late, in a span of two months, he has signed six films. Perhaps, no other Kannada star in the past has been as busy as Upendra is today. "Inspite of sitting at home for one and half years," grins the trendsetter in a quick chat with this correspondent on the sets of his Ninagyake at Raja Rajeshwari Nagar Kalyan Mantap on the outskirts of Bangalore.

UPENDRA

What are the films that you have on hand lately?
Producer Dhanraj’s H20 with Prabhu Deva and Priyanka is nearing completion. Superstar with Kirti Reddy as the heroine, directed by Nagathihalli Chandrasekhar for my close Pal Hanumanthu, is half complete. We are going to Hongkong and Bangkok very shortly for the film. I have signed the Kannada version of Baazigar which is titled Nagarahavu. The blockbuster directed by Puttanna Kanagal and starring Vishnuvardhan and Ambarish made 28 years ago had the same title. This is produced by Rockline Venkatesh. Jyothika and Shilpa Shetty also figure in the cast and I am playing a double role in it. Recently I signed a film called Ninagyake for producer Muralikrishna of the runaway hit Narasimhanaidu. This has direction by veteran D. Rajendra Babu and is based on Dashavathara. This is a huge budget film with Simran and Preeti Jhangiani in the lead. I have accepted a film to be made by acclaimed director S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu based on the underworld titled Kothwal. Then I start work on Hollywood for producer Ramu.

How do you manage to do so many films together?
This is my job and I have to do it without harming any producer. The dates are given systematically to each one.

But there are complaints that you have not been able to complete the films at the fixed time after accepting so many of them.
I know which film you are referring to. I was sitting idle at home for one and half years after the release of Preethse. At that time no one bothered to utilise my dates. And when I agreed to work in H20, the producer was not able to arrange funds for the shooting. I always believe a producer is like Columbus. He should help us in rowing the boat with ease. Anyway I didn’t know what to do. So I took up Superstar.

With Keerthi Reddy in Superstar

Do you mean to say a producer is the vital element in the production of a film?
Yes. For my kind of films there should not be any obstacle from a producer. But I always think about the safety of the producer. That’s why I enlighten him on my dates accurately before the launch of the film. There has been some delay with H20 but that is not from my side. The cost of the film which the producer quotes as Rs. 7 crore is also not true. The dates of Prabhu Deva have to be adjusted because he has a very tight schedule. Without him, I cannot complete the climax of the film. As a director and actor, I know the difficulties more than a producer. Pumping money does not solve all the problems.

The Producer’s Association is taking measures for any violation.
But they cannot take action on me in any way. I am a transparent one. I don’t believe in double standards. Besides, I strictly work according to my time-table.

It is said that you are the busiest and costliest actor today.
Busiest, I agree but not costliest. People can say anything because I have not given call sheet to them. Accepting all these films is to keep the audience happy and not the producers. No one can keep the producer happy today.

In the past you had said that you do not work for money. Now with so many films and unaccountable money, what do you intend to do?
My dream, always, has been to make a film on my own. I am still chasing this dream. What I need for this is money. I don’t want to take risk with other producer’s money. I want to make it with my own money, like Aamir Khan did in Lagaan. I am working hard and collecting money for that dream project.

How s Superstar shaping up?
For the first time, I am working with director Nagathihalli Chandrasekhar. A former teacher, he is very good on the sets. We want a master like him with a stick in his hand. He likes improvements. The involvement should not be mistaken.

It was your aspiration to work as a director rather than an actor. Now you are in a series of films.
The demand is more for the actor in me.

Do you keep any yardstick for your releases?
I like to have a gap of at least 100 days between two releases.

What is Ninagyake all about?
It is director D. Rajendra Babu’s concept. He is a very strong man like producer Muralikrishna. Basically the film is all about the dashavathara of Lord Sri Narayana. I will be seen in many avatars to give a new change to the modern society. But I fail to get the result in the beginning and later I find my own solution and get better results. It is a mixture of mythology, sociology and fantasy. This is purely Rajendra Babu’s film.