Remembering Puttanna Kanagal
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June 5 marks the thirty sixth loss of life anniversary of the legendary Kannada movie director, Puttanna Kanagal. His movies comparable to Belli Moda, Kappu Bilapu, Gejje Pooje, Sharapamjara, Sakshatkara Nagarahaavu and Ranganayaki are thought of classics. Ranganayaki and Yedakallu Guddadamele put ladies centre-stage with the latter movie coping with the sexual needs of a girl whose wants weren’t met by her husband. His ideas had been daring, profound and handled advanced relationships.
While his movies featured established actors comparable to Srinath and Ramakrishna, Sridhar made his debut in a Puttanna Kanagal movie. The actor and Bharatantaya dancer was 22 and finding out engineering when Puttanna approached him for a task in Amruta Ghalige. Most folks would have jumped on the provide to work with the famend director however the academically inclined Sridhar requested for per week to consider the provide.
Shock and awe
“I was shocked,” Sridhar mentioned with fun. “We had no connection with the film industry. I was in my final year of engineering, and was involved in theatre and dance. I was playing Arjuna in the dance drama, Chitrangada. We were performing in Town Hall and after the show I was informed that Puttannaji had sat through the performance. I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call from him a few days later. When I asked for a week’s time, he was surprised. I was huge fan and when we met, instead of discussing the role, we got into an intense discussion of his earlier films. He kept pacing up and down while I spoke animatedly. He later revealed to me that he was studying my expressions, body language and ability to approach the role he had in mind for me.”
Eyes proper
Before the shoot, Puttanna requested Sridhar to look immediately on the solar a number of occasions a day. “I later understood the exercise was to strength my eyes. Those days we used heavy reflectors and the actor would crinkle his eyes or blink.”
Sridhar’s first shoot was at a temple near Sagara with the main woman, Padma Vasanthi. “It was a prayer scene, followed by the song, ‘Hindustanada Yendu Mariyada, Bharata Ratnavu.’ Since it was similar to classical dance, and I was from a theatre background, it was easy for me to slip into the character’s skin. After this we worked on the marriage scene, which was intense. Puttanna told me what he wanted and I spent hours thinking of the character and emotions. Once the shot was done, Puttanna hugged me.”
The similar day the unit received to know that Padma had received the State Award for her position in Manasa Sarovara. Puttanna organized a celebration and advised Sridhar he anticipated him (Sridhar) to win the award for Amruta Ghalige the subsequent 12 months. “Till date, those words are bigger than any award or recognition I have ever received.”
Be ready
With Puttanna, Sridhar says, you needed to be ready for final minute adjustments. “He was constantly creating and visualising. And as an actor, one had to be prepared to explore every emotion. Even when I was done with my shot, I would sit beside him observing and make notes in my diary. In between shots, he would ask me, ‘Do you see that effect on the camera? That was brought about by creating this shadow effect here.’ I was in awe of him. He would be euphoric while directing. I am yet to see that kind of passion in anyone else. He was a director on set, but once pack-up was announced, he would take on the role of a parent.”
Mantra for perfection
Likening working with Puttanna to a guru-shishya relationship, Sridhar says he wouldn’t cease until the actors had given their finest and he was happy. “This was extended towards the crew as well. BS Basavaraj was the DOP for Amruta Ghalige. For the wedding scene, Puttanna wanted a particular blue light to reflect on my face. Basavaraj had to climb a tree, fix lights with blue shades in such a manner that the particular shade Puttanna wanted to fall on my face was achieved.”
Lot of thought went into selecting areas, Sridhar says. “The locations became characters. If you see a tree, or a rocky range, it echoes the mood of the film. That was his speciality. No matter how much I speak, I will never be able to do justice to his genius. It is like only when you stand in front of Mount Kailash, will you be able to understand its grandeur. No amount of description will give you that experience.”
Memoirs in black and white
Aswathanarayana was Puttanna’s private photographer capturing each second on his digital camera. “I was lucky to spend so many years with a man of his intellect and stature,” he says. “I first met Puttanna in 1965, on the sets of Belli Moda. I was 19 years old and learning photography. The photographer who was supposed to be on the sets could not make it and I was asked to step in.”
From that day until 1985, Aswathanarayana was a relentless with Puttanna. “It was with Belli Moda that Puttanna became a legend. He was adept in every aspect of filmmaking and this helped him extract the best work from his cast and crew. People say he favoured woman-centric themes. That was just one part of his oeuvre. His films covered almost every aspect of the human heart, mind and emotion. He would tell me every picture I took should also tell a story, depict an emotion. He became my teacher and the set was my school. He was very supportive of a still photographer like me, which is rare.”
Puttanna shared the photographs Aswathanarayana clicked with the media and for movie promotions.
“When actors worked with Puttanna, their performance was elevated to a different level. Puttanna was capable of bringing out the best in each one of us.”
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