'I have a gut feeling that Manasaare will do well'

Ever since Yograj Bhat [inset] made Mungaru Male three years ago, his films are always eagerly awaited. The same is the case with his new Kannada film Manasaare which is produced by Rockline Venkatesh.

The film stars Diganth and Aindrita Ray and has music by Mano Murthy. In fact, music is one of the film's biggest strengths. The song Ello Maleyaagidhe rendered by Sonu Nigam is already a hit.

Yogaraj Bhat speaks about Manasaare before the movie hits theatres on Friday.

Are you facing any pre-release tension on the eve of the release of Manasaare?

I don't know how to answer this question. Yes, many directors feel strange before the release of their films but I have never felt that way. Even while writing the scripts, I would think only about the reaction of the audience, that is, whether they are prepared to accept the concept and dialogues.

I have a gut feeling that Manasaare will do well at the Box office. It is not because I am overconfident but because everything has gone smoothly from writing the script to the release of the film.

You were to direct Lagori for Rockline Venkatesh with Puneet Raj Kumar in the lead. What happened to it?

We had the bound script ready for Lagori. Even today I can confidently say that Lagori is the best script written for Puneet. Both Puneet and his brother Raghavendra Raj Kumar were quite excited. But that was the time the recession had set in, and we thought as the film had to be made in a huge budget of around fifteen crores, it would not have been feasible at that point of time. Then I had this story idea which I discussed with Rockline. He immediately told me to go ahead with the project.

I called Pawan Kumar who had co-scripted Lagori with me to start work for Manasaare. As we started writing the script, I laughed at the dialogues. You can call it luck or sheer coincidence, some times when everything turns out good for you.

Tell me something about Manasaare?

Manasaare cannot be placed in any particular slot or genre. It is a different film. The film may look serious in its designs and posters and even the film stills can give such a picture. But believe me, the film has lots of humour-laced situations. It has lots of black humour too which you don't see in Kannada films.

The script is the main strength of the film besides the music by Mano Murthy and camera work by Sathya Hegde.

Manasaare is your first film with Sathya Hegde...

Yes, you are right. Sathya was normally working with Soori and they share a good rapport. My first choice was my Mungaru Male cameraman Krishna, but since the film was delayed, he was unable to get bulk dates for me. Sathya stepped in at that point.

Sathya and Krishna come from the same school of thought, and I did not find any difference in their style of work. More than anything else, I enjoyed working with Sathya because he has specialized in taking shots while holding the camera in hand or on his shoulders. He is brilliant in such shots.

Mano Murthy's songs are all big hits. Why did choose to shoot the most popular song, Ello Mareyaagidhe in Sandur, a dry place?

I wanted Mano Murthy sir to return to slow melodies once again. I wanted all the songs to be haunting because the subject needed such a song composition. Jayanth's lyrics are superb in Ello Mareyaagidhe Endhu.

Major portions of Manasaare was shot in the periphery of Madikeri in Kodagu district. But I wanted a different background for the Ello Mareyaagidhe Endhu and decided to shoot it in Sondur and in Bellary district.

It looks like an umbrella gets a lot of prominence in the film, whether it is in the promos or in the song, Ello Maleyaagidhe. Have you made it a character in the film like the wild boar and rabbit in your previous films (Galipata and Mungaru Male)?

I have used an umbrella in the song Ello Mareyaagidhe. That is it.

What do you have to say about the performances of both Diganth and Aindrita Ray?

I had decided on Aindrita after seeing her lively performance in Junglee. I did not have Diganth in mind first. Plus he had problems with his dates. But once he said he was ready to do my film, I decided to cast him. I am sure both Diganth and Aindrita will go up by several notches in their careers after this film. They have acted brilliantly. Diganth's dubbing is also superb.

I want to say that Neetu who was so good in my film Galipata earlier plays a very good cameo in this film. I am thankful to her for agreeing to do this role.