Mammootty makes Kannada debut

What made you choose Mammootty,a non-Kannada actor for the film?
I don’t believe that a good actor has anything to do with the language. We have actors in every Indian film industry working in various other language films too. So as a director when I imagine a character,I have the liberty to imagine any actor who would fit in that particular role best. As you are well aware,Mammootty sir is one of the finest actors we have today. So it’s not a surprise that for me he seemed apt for the role. Coming back to the language issue,we are also shooting the film in Malayalam with the same set of actors. So Shikari will have a cast that will have a mix of actors from both the languages.

What are your experiences working with him?
Mammootty sir has been in the industry for about 30 years now. He has worked with directors who can be called ‘the cream of Indian cinema’. So the kind of experience he brings with him to the sets and the energy he pumps into the entire unit is huge. Along with my team members,I too could feel a great level of energy when he was working with us. However,I was afraid of working with him initially as he is such a senior,versatile actor and I am just one film old. But he made sure that I was relaxed and helped me to concentrate on what I wanted to shoot. I guess all great people have a lot of humility and Mammootty sir is no exception. As a director,when I work with him,it becomes so easy to portray what you want to depict on screen with the utmost sincerity.

What are the highlights of the film?
Shikari marks the entry of legendary actor Mammootty sir into the Kannada film industry. However,the film also has an interesting narration technique with a great love story. It moves in two time levels. Both the leading actor and actress will have dual roles and will be paired against each other in both the time lines. Music for the film is scored by Harikrishna,camera- work is being handled by Dr. Vikram Shrivastava and editing will be done by S. Manohar. We have got one of the leading producers in the Kannada film industry,K. Manju on board.

How different is Shikari from your first film Gubbachigalu?
Every film is challenging for a filmmaker. Gubbachigalu had a different canvas as it was more of an arthouse cinema effort. As we knew the market limitations for a film like Gubbachigalu,we had set our boundaries and had to work within those limitations. However,in Shikari,since we are making it in the populist or the commercial cinema way,we have the liberty to stretch our boundaries a bit and make our painting on a bigger canvas. Cinematically,both the films undergo the same process but this time the narrative has changed.

When are you planning to release the film?
Well,the second shooting schedule starts from the second week of September for about a month. Then the post production in both the languages is going to take a lot of time. So we are hopeful of a Christmas release.