Sathya Harishchandra: A candid talk with Dayal Padmanabhan, Sanchita Shetty, Bhavana and K Manju

Dayal Padmanabhan has collaborated with Sharan and K Manju for Sathya Harishchandra, which is bankrolled by leading producer K Manju. The film, which is releasing on October 20, has beautiful and charming actresses like Sanchita Padukone and Bhavana Rao playing the female leads. 

The team was at the office of International Business Times, India to talk about the film. The video of their conversation can be found above and the edited text can be read below:

Dayal: You have made both commercial and critically-acclaimed movies which are poles apart. Is it because you do not want to be branded for one kind of films?
There is a purpose behind every cinema and it is defined by the filmmaker. Experimental films are generally done to preserve novels or any works as a document.

According to me, a commercial film is required for any filmmaker for his survival and its reach cannot be compared with the parallel films. I do not want to be identified for one kind of movies. Having said that I will once again return to experimental cinema after some time.

Dayal: Please tell us about your Satya Harishchandra.
Among the many genres, comedy has got universal 'saleability.' We don't require extra marketing to sell the films made in this genre. It is easy to sale, but difficult to make. The writing comes naturally to me as I consider myself to be a comedy piece (Laughs). It is a true comedy entertainer.

Sanchita Padukone: Why have you taken such a long break from Sandalwood?
I am doing a Kannada film after a gap of six years. During the period, I wished to make a comeback with a good subject, but could not come across any. I finally found the Sathya Harishchandra script to be interesting.

Sanchita Padukone: What role have you played?
I play an NRI. I appear in stylish avatars. Compared to my first Kannada movie where I played a homely character, this is totally different.

Bhavana: I play a sweet-simple innocent role. My character goes in search of something to Portugal and meets the hero. How her life changes thereafter is the interesting part of the story. 

K Manju: What was your first thought when Dayal Padmanabhan narrated you the story?
I am a true commercial producer. I see every movie from the commercial prospects. I prefer subjects that give some message to the society. And Sathya Harishchandra has a fantastic story.

Today, we live in a time when lies have apparently become an integral part of our day-to-day routine. Rajkumar's classic was about a man who never uttered a single lie in his life, but our hero is exactly opposite to the mythological character. This film has everything that viewers love to see in commercial movies.

Dayal: What is the film all about?
The hero tells a lie and that leads to a chain of lies. His struggle to come out from the cobweb of lies and how he transforms himself in the end forms the crux of the story.

K Manju: Why did you choose Sharan for this role?
The role is tailor-made for Sharan. If any other actor would have done the character, I think he would have earned 60 or 70 marks out of 100 and I knew that only Sharan would do full justice to the character.

Bhavana chips in and adds: There is simplicity with comedy touch in Sharan sir's role, nobody else could have done this role

Bhavana: What is the highlight in your role?
It is very difficult to do situational comedy. I think I have handled it well which I considered it be the tough part.

Sanchita: How was it working with Sharan?
He was very supportive in every scene and it was comfortable to work with him.

Dayal: Where all was the film shot?
We shot the movie for 55 days. We have filmed two fights and songs along with 15 scenes in Portugal. We have shot the climax in Senji Fort, which is five hours away from Bengaluru. The location is good and the scene in which Sanchita hugs Sharan has come out well. I think the audience will love the last segment with illuminating cinematography by Faisal Ali.

It is a movie that should be finished in 6-7 months. The film went through a little delay as we waited for Sharan's other movie to be released. It is unethical for us to release Sathya Harishchandra before his other film. Otherwise, it was a film which wrapped up on time.

Coming to your Kuladalli keelyavudu song, did you have fears before making the song as there will be lots of comparison between the classic song from Dr Rajkumar's film and your flick?
It is a tribute to Dr Rajkumar's song. Annavaru's classic cannot be made again or there would not be a banner like Vijaya Productions. We wanted to have some element from the iconic movie and we found the song to be apt.

Kuladalli keelyavudu song is history in itself and we did not want to spoil it by remixing it but went for recreation. The number suits our story.

Sanchita: How challenging was this role?
Honestly, it was not a challenging role and I have done similar roles earlier. It is an easy-going character.

Bhavana: How different was this role?
Usually, in my movies, I mouth a lot of dialogues, but in Sathya Harishchandra there were not many dialogues. In that sense, it is quite different from my past works.

Bhavana: We often hear about two leading ladies having catfight. How was your equation with Sanchita?
Everywhere people are asking the same question. Come let us fight (Bhavana tells Sanchita and they laugh). Nothing of that sort happen. We are good friends. She is a quiet person and I am very talkative.

K Manju: What are all the factors that you consider before producing a film.
As I said, I see movies from the perspective of a business point of view whether this is a commercially viable project or not. Then, I visualise who could suit the role and how much budget is required for the film. I have my own calculation and 90 percent of my decisions have never gone wrong. If I get the right script and the right cast, I will not hesitate to produce the project.

I have produced 45 movies till date and with people's love, I have sustained in the industry. I always wish to make good movies even though I do it for money. Yet, I take up films that can give some message to the society.

Dayal: How was your equation with K Manju?
First of all, he does not even come to the sets. He will never poke his nose after I take approval from him. So, it is very comfortable to work with him. Moreover, any organised director can work with him without any issue.

I personally felt that he is the most comfortable producer I have ever worked with. Apart from the producer-director relationship, we have a small professional friendship. He talks about his ventures and seeks my suggestions. He knows me very well and understands that I am a filmmaker who does movies with a lot of calculation.

As per my knowledge, Sathya Harishchandra is the highest budget in Sharan's career till date. And K Manju knows that I do not waste producer's money unnecessarily.

Dayal: The trailers and teasers have shown that you have come out with hilarious one-liners.
Writing funny one-liners come naturally to me. If you look at my previous works, I was more into comedy movies. I have penned dialogues for nine out of 13 of my films.

Dayal: You have an interesting caption - 'Based on untrue incident.'
People are curious whenever they read that movies are made on real incidents. For a change, we try to build curiosity with the aforementioned caption. These kinds of lines attract netizens and online audience.

K Manju: You are releasing Sathya Harischandra for Deepavali festival when big movies from other languages hit the screens.
We are confident of our film. Being a distributor myself, I can release my movie without worrying about other issues. I have booked 180 theatres and people are requesting to have a wider release. I am not keen on the idea of releasing in 250 screens and reducing the screens in the next week itself. Moreover, when we decide to release a film in big numbers it directly impacts movies currently running successfully in theatres. So, I have decided to release the film in 180-190 screens and ensure that it will stay in theatres for a longer period.

Dayal: Your upcoming movies?
I have decided to work with K Manju for a few more films although I have not signed any contract. It is because I felt it like working in my own production. We will announce our next collaboration soon.

Sanchita: I am interested to do more number of Kannada projects from now on.

Bhavana: My three movies Sathya Harischandran, Dayavittu Gamanisi and Tiger Ghalli are lined up for release in October.

Dayal: What is your message to the audience?
People would not watch movies to get a message. There are other mediums to seek knowledge or message. The audience only watches movies to get entertained and see whether the film is worth the money. I promise them that Sathya Harishchandra will break their funny bones for two odd hours.