Prashanth Neel says not afraid of repetition in films like Ugramm, KGF, Salaar: ‘No passion when it comes to cinema, it is a business for me’

Filmmaker Prashanth Neel’s next film Salaar is all set to release in theatres on December 22. The Prabhas starrer is already making waves with an impressive advance collection. The filmmaker has shared that he isn’t bothered when people compare his films and label them as repetitive. He said  that for him, it’s all about business, and as long as he has entertained the audience, he doesn’t concern himself with his reputation.

In an interview with Kairam Vaashi, Neel was asked about his fears before the release of the film. He said, “For me it is always about money. It’s not fear about reputation or fear of repetitiveness. What I did in Ugram, I did in KGF; what I did in KGF I did in Salaar, I don’t care about that. I am here only to entertain. If my box-office collection shows a good result, then why should I worry about myself. I don’t think the paying audience is coming to judge me. They don’t have time for that. I was carried away for a small period of time. I was like ‘what about my reputation, everybody is saying Salaar is like KGF.’ But now I don’t care. If you tell me ‘the cinema was super, but it was a bit like KGF’ that does not matter to me. I myself made KGF.

He expressed that he created Ugram with a deep passion for cinema. However, he went on to recount the challenges he faced, mentioning how the film fell victim to piracy, and a majority of people watched it on YouTube.

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The filmmaker said, “I spent a lot of money. I sold one of my houses. I did all of those things and things went terribly bad for me during the filming of Ugram. By the time I finished, there was not one distributor who wanted to take my film. I was in debt for four years. Viji sir and Yash bailed me out. There is no passion when it comes to cinema, it is a business for me and in that business, I do my best. I always maintain that I am who I am because of the Kannada industry.”

Salaar is set to release worldwide in five languages, including Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada.