Nikhil Manjoo, who created ripples with award-winning films such as Haj and Reservation is back with his next venture – Ammana Mane.
The award-winning actor, usually casts theatre artistes in his films. This time, however, he approached Raghavendra Rajkumar for the lead. “I never dreamt of casting stars in my films as we make films within small budgets. We were a team, happy telling good stories and thrilled with the awards. A friend of mine suggested I try making films with stars so that the film reaches a larger audience. I gave it a thought and approached Raganna,” explains Nikhil, whose film Ammana Mane is a “realistic” story about a man and his relationship with his mother.
“We always talk about our mothers and our love for them. But, few show it through our actions. As we grow older, we tend to get irritated with her ideas, lifestyle and thinking. Ammana Mane talks about a man who gives up everything for his mother. We met Raganna, who has actually lived a life such as this. He gave up his acting career to nurture his family and relationships. He kept his passion aside for his family, which made me think that here is a man actually living the life of my character,” shares the director, who adds he is thrilled to have Raganna a part of his film, which will have “no fights or songs. When Raganna heard the story, he hugged me. That gave me the idea that stars too are open to new ideas and approach.”
That is not all, Nikhil has simultaneously launched another film based on a book – IAS Dampathigala Kanasugalu (Dreams of an IAS couple), written by IAS officers Shalini Rajneesh and her husband Rajneesh Goyal.
“Sonu Gowda plays Shalini in this film. “We plan to work simultaneously on both projects and also release them together by the end of this year,” hopes Nikhil, who gives credit to his mother for instilling a passion for cinema. “I never took cinema seriously nor did I dream of being an actor. My parents wanted to see me on screen and encouraged me to take part in theatre,” says the director.
“I was offered a chance to direct a serial when I was barely established as an actor or director. It was a daily soap that no one watched and the TRP was pathetic. I approached the makers and told them they should replace me as director to make it work. They agreed to let me go after the 100th episode and started to look for someone to replace me. Meanwhile, the script writer and I changed the script to keep the serial going. We included a murder and suspense. I played the role of an investigative officer and to everyone’s surprise the serial got excellent TRP and I was not let go. I continued as director for the next 400 episodes,” laughs Nikhil, who went on direct more serials before venturing into films — feature and shorts.
Nikhil says he finds cinema to be a powerful tool that can change the society. “We can be slaves of this medium or use it to educate, create awareness and build a stronger society.”