Thamassu has a good message for the audience: Agni Shridhar
Social activist-cum-journalist Agni Shridhar, who has earlier written scripts and screenplay for hit movies like Aa Dinagalu, Slum Bala and Kallara Santhe, is now turning an independent director with a challenge to do an original after the row of the Telugu movie Magadheera. His directorial debut venture Thamassu stars Hat-trick hero Shivaraj Kumar and popular Malayalam actress Padmapriya in leads.
Agni Shridhar, who is well-known for bringing controversial subjects on screen and his sharp satiric tone, has completed all the works of Thamassu and is ready to release it on June 11. Now he is gearing up to promote the film. On the eve of its release, I visited the debutant director"s residence to interview him on Sunday. He seemed quite calm and totally relieved. He spoke to oneindia about Thamassu, his upcoming movies and future of the film industry for nearly two hours. Here are the excerpts of Agni Shridhar interview.
Sir,
you
have
come
a
long
way
as
a
writer-cum-social
activist,
script
and
screenplay
writer
and
now
a
director.
What
were
the
challenges
you
faced
when
you
chose
a
different
sphere
of
life
every
time?
Right
from
my
childhood
days,
I
was
much
more
interested
in
expressing
my
own
self
and
writing
is
the
best
way
to
do
it.
So
I
took
up
writing..
And
basically
every
kind
of
artist
such
as
painter,
singer
and
dancer
will
have
basic
knowledge
about
other
genres
of
art.
He
won"t
find
much
problem
while
switching
over
to
other
genre.
Moreover,
I"m
well
versed
with
the
film
industry
for
the
past
30
years.
So
I
didn"t
face
any
challenge
while
passing
through
all
these
different
spheres
of
life.
Your
directorial
debut
venture
Thamassu
is
finally
ready
for
release.
How
was
your
experience
as
a
director
on
the
sets?
Did
you
face
any
problem?
It
was
really
wonderful
experience
on
sets
of
the
Thamassu.
I
didn"t
have
problem
there
because
right
from
the
light-boy,
everyone
wanted
to
impress
me
by
contributing
something
extraordinary
to
the
film
and
get
patted
by
me.
Before
I
tell
them
something,
everyone
used
to
be
prepared
for
the
shots.
So
it
was
really
exciting.
You
have
worked
with
Kannada
superstar
Shivanna
and
talented
Malayalam
actress
Padmapriya
and
Tamil
senior
actor
Nassir
for
your
directorial
debut
venture.
How
was
your
association
with
them
on
the
sets?
Right
from
beginning,
I"m
very
close
to
Rajkumar"s
family.
Moreover
Parvathamma
Rajkumar
is
very
affectionate
towards
me
and
she
treats
me
like
her
brother.
I
know
Shivaraj
Kumar
since
he
was
a
kid.
So
I
had
a
good
association
with
him
on
the
set.
And
Padmapriya
has
come
from
a
very
cultured
family
and
is
highly
qualified.
Her
father
was
a
military
officer
and
he
wanted
her
to
become
an
IAS
office.
She
was
even
closely
associated
with
TN
Sheshan.
She
is
talented
actress,
who
has
acted
with
national
level
fame
Mohanlal
and
Mammootty.
She
was
very
active
on
the
sets.
Tamil
actor
Nassir
is
also
another
talented
actor.
He
was
also
quite
cooperative
on
the
sets.
What
is
the
movie
Thamassu
all
about?
Is
it
about
rowdyism?
Thamassu
means
the
darkness
inside
the
human
heart.
In
Sanskrit,
it
is
called
Tamsik
personality.
There
are
two
main
characters
i.e.
protagonist
and
antagonist
both
are
engaged
in
evil
activity.
The
protagonist
opens
his
eyes
and
tries
to
reform
himself,
when
he
comes
to
know
that
there
is
also
a
right
path
to
tread
in
life,
while
the
antagonist
continues
as
a
terrorist.
It
is
not
at
all
a
movie
about
rowdyism
and
it"s
a
decent
movie.
How
is
Shivanna-Padmapriya's
onscreen
chemistry
in
Thamassu?
As
I
said,
both
of
them
are
matured
actors
and
they
have
done
their
best
in
the
movie
Thamassu.
Shivanna
is
playing
a
police
officer
while
Padmapriya
appears
as
a
human
right
activist.
Their
onscreen
chemistry
has
come
out
very
well.
There
is
an
ideological
clash
between
the
hero
and
heroine
and
this
kind
of
clash
used
to
be
there
between
Rajkumar
and
Lakshmi.
They
have
done
a
wonderful
job
in
this
clash
segment,
which
will
be
a
highlight
of
the
film.
What
would
you
like
to
comment
upon
the
work
of
art
director
Shashidhar
Adapa
and
Sundarnath
Suvarna's
camera
work
in
Thamassu?
Shashidhar
Adapa
is
a
master
in
art
direction.
He
has
worked
under
well-known
directors
of
India
and
has
many
progressive
thoughts
about
the
art
direction.
There
is
no
doubt
about
his
work.
Sundarnath
Suverna
is
also
an
excellent
cinematographer.
He
has
association
several
literary-artists
and
he
has
learned
deep
insight
of
the
different
feelings
from
them.
He
is
an
expert
in
selection
of
shooting
locations.
He
has
work
experience
in
both
commercial
and
artistic
films.
He
has
done
a
wonderful
job
in
the
film.
What
would
you
like
to
comment
on
your
daughter
Ramya's
lyrics
and
music
of
Sandeep
Chowta?
What
is
the
response
from
listeners?
How
is
the
audio
sale
going
on?
My
daughter
Ramya
has
penned
a
few
lyrics
for
the
film.
I
had
warned
all
the
technicians
as
not
to
be
merciful
upon
her
as
she
is
my
daughter.
I
had
suggested
them
to
take
strict
work
from
her.
So
she
has
done
well.
I
really
like
her
work
as
a
lyricist.
And
Sandeep
Chowta"s
father
DK
Chowta,
who
was
a
social
activist,
is
close
friend
of
mine.
I
know
that
Sandeep
is
also
a
popular
musician
in
both
Bollywood
and
South
Indian
film
industry.
He
is
very
talented
musician.
He
has
given
excellent
composition
of
songs
and
background
score.
However,
the
listener"s
response
is
very
well
and
audio
sale
is
also
doing
well.
Agni
Shirdhar's
movie
means
audiences
will
expect
that
there
must
be
a
social
message.
What
is
the
message
in
the
film
Thamassu
for
viewers?
Yes!
Definitely,
Thamassu
has
a
good
message
for
the
audience.
Love
and
affection
can
also
bloom
in
the
path
of
violence.
When
is
the
movie
releasing?
And
how
many
theatres
is
it
released
in?
The
movie
was
slated
to
release
on
4th
June,
but
the
Censor
board
delayed
the
release
of
the
film.
The
song
Maaro
Maaro
Allah
Allah…
and
a
dialogue
–
“Allah
is
a
Saithan
and
Ram
is
a
Saithan
and
we
don"t
want
them" are
being
cut.
Censor
Board
is
yet
to
give
its
green
signal
for
it.
However,
its
release
has
been
postponed
to
June
11
and
it
will
be
screened
in
58
theatres.
Thamassu
is
ready
for
release,
but
it
has
not
got
expected
amount
of
promotion
so
far.
What
is
your
take
on
promotion
of
the
movie?
I
feel
promotion
is
a
must
thing
these
days.
A
film
should
be
promoted
up
to
a
certain
extent
and
it
should
not
go
beyond
the
limit.
If
it
crosses
the
limit,
it
will
have
negative
effect
about
the
film.
For
example,
Tamil
and
Telugu
filmmakers
will
have
to
much
of
publicity
of
their
movies.
They
reveal
all
the
details
of
the
film
on
the
TV
interview
and
they
won"t
leave
a
single
thing
for
the
curiosity
of
the
audience.
Then
the
movie
will
land
up
in
trouble.
As
for
the
promotion
of
Thamassu,
we"re
starting
it
this
week.
Shivanna
is
very
much
excited
about
publicity
of
the
film.
There
are
different
means
of
promotion
and
online
media
is
also
one
among
them.
Promotion
on
internet
is
getting
greater
importance
these
days.
Most
of
the
audiences
are
browsing
information
about
movies
on
net.
What
do
you
think
about
it?
Yes!
It"s
true.
Bollywood
and
Hollywood
filmmakers
are
already
busy
promoting
their
movies
on
internet.
But
Kannada
film
industry
has
not
grown
to
that
extent.
It
will
take
time
to
reach
that
level.
How
much
time
do
you
spend
on
browsing
internet?
Do
you
have
accounts
in
the
social
networking
sites
like
Twitter,
Facebook
and
Orkut?
I"m
not
much
used
to
internet
and
I
don"t
have
accounts
in
any
of
these
social
networking
sites.
I"m
busy
with
reading
books
and
magazines.
But
my
assistants,
Ramya,
Sumana
and
Harshika
have
their
accounts
and
are
posting
the
promos
of
the
movie
on
these
sites.
There
are
several
issues
happening
around
the
state.
Why
Kannada
film
industry
is
only
after
remakes
and
rowdyism
movies?
Why
movies
are
not
made
on
social
issues
that
create
awareness
among
the
youths?
Is
it
because
of
lack
of
script
writers?
It"s
really
sad
that
most
of
the
filmmakers
fall
prey
to
this
trend
of
remakes
and
rowdyism
movies.
But
these
producers
and
directors
have
suffered
a
lot.
Most
of
them
have
already
stopped
doing
such
movies.
And
I
hope
this
trend
is
disappearing
now.
As
for
script
writers,
Kannada
film
industry
has
a
few
good
writers
like
Nagathihalli
Chandrashekhar,
Yogaraj
Bhat,
R
Chandru,
Soori
etc.
They
are
really
coming
out
with
good
movies,
but
the
audiences
are
encouraging
such
talented
directors.
You
are
always
against
remake
movies.
Do
you
think
that
remakes
are
main
reason
for
the
failure
of
the
industry?
As
you
said,
I"m
totally
against
remakes.
In
2009,
there
were
a
large
number
of
remakes
most
of
which
were
flops
at
the
Box
Office.
Both
remakes
and
dubbing
movies
are
dangerous
and
lack
nativity.
But
I
don"t
think
that
remakes
are
the
reason
for
the
failure
of
the
industry
because
there
are
several
remakes,
which
are
super
hits.
Vishnuvardhan"s
Yajamana
and
Aptharakshaka
are
the
best
examples
for
it.
That"s
why
he
was
confident
of
remakes
and
acted
in
several
remakes.
What
according
to
you
are
the
reasons
for
the
failure
of
the
Sandalwood?
It"s
very
difficult
to
analyse
the
reason
for
the
failure
of
the
industry.
And
I
don"t
want
comment
on
this
issue.
You
have
started
an
organisation
called
Kannada
Sene,
but
it
will
be
in
news
only
when
there
is
some
issue
about
Kannada
language.
What
are
the
intentions
of
this
organisation?
It"s
a
cultural
organisation.
I
started
it
immediately
after
I
returned
from
the
jail.
But
the
media
contemplated
that
it
would
be
a
communal
organisation
like
Shiva
Sena
in
Maharashtra.
This
made
me
put
certain
limitations
on
the
activities
of
the
organisation.
Its
main
motto
is
works
to
save
culture
and
tradition
of
Kannada
language.
That"s
why
whenever
there
is
some
injustice
against
Kannada
language
and
culture
we
protest
against
it.
Besides
that,
you
are
also
running
a
weekly
magazine
called
'Agni'
both
in
Kannada
as
well
as
English.
How
do
you
balance
the
works
of
filmmaking,
running
magazine
and
with
social
activities
besides
keeping
yourself
in
good
health?
Recently,
I"ve
given
up
the
works
of
magazines
and
I
write
articles
once
in
a
while.
I've
several
assistants
and
I
assign
all
other
works
to
them.
In
fact,
I
will
be
very
free
these
days.
I"m
not
doing
anything
great
that
is
done
by
most
of
the
great
personalities
these
days.
As
for
health,
I
do
work
outs
for
one
hour
every
day.
What are your upcoming movies?
I"m going to do one more movie with Shivaraj Kumar. I"ve plans to do the Aa Dinagalu part 2 and 3 in future. I"m also considering doing a historical movie on Tippu Sultan. In fact, I'm desperate to do this movie because all other historical characters in Karnataka are depicted onscreen, but nobody has dared to do movie on Tippu ever in Kannada film industry just because of he tried to convert several Hindus to Muslims.