‘Shooting a children’s film was a beautiful experience’ 

...says filmmaker Rishab Shetty, who has wrapped up shoot for Sarkari Hiriya Prathamika Shale at one stretch
‘Shooting a children’s film was a beautiful experience’ 

Rishab Shetty, director of films such as Ricky and Kirik Party, is excited about his upcoming children’s film, for which he's come up with a unique title -- Sarkari Hiriya Prathamika Shale, Kasargodu Koduge Ramanna Rai.

Rishab, who wrapped up the shoot with a 55-day schedule at one stretch, says that it was a beautiful experience working with children. Sharing the first few stills from the film with CE, the filmmaker says, “I thought of making a children’s film while directing Ricky. I wanted this to be a content-driven film, and not a starry affair, with the story told mostly through children. We also have Anant Nag, who is a fine actor, playing a pivotal role.”

The director turns producer for the first time with Sarkari Hiriya…, which is made under Rishab Films. “I had to compromise a lot during the making of Ricky. When I decided to make a film the way I wanted and following what the story demanded, I decided to take on the responsibility of its production too,” he says.

Rishab auditioned at least 1,000 kids before he chose around 30 of them, who were then sent to a workshop. Finally, nine were finalised. “We had a whole lot of school children taking part in our shoot. This is a film that talks about the school and its surroundings, a sort of children’s version of Kirik Party. Having said that, this film is not only for children. It has characters of every age involved,” he says, adding that except for Anant Nag, the cast is mostly made up of newcomers.

While the director is aware that children’s films are not very common, he cites the example of Tamil film Kaaka Muttai, which he says was another reason to make this film. “I have often heard that a children’s film is made on a small budget, with filmmakers shooting on a subsidy given by the government. There have been a few like that as well. But Sarkari Hiriya... is technically more advanced than Kirik Party, and I completed the shooting with a Gimbal camera,” he says.

The film is now at the edit desk. “I hope to bring out the film next summer or even earlier, but it all depends on what other releases there are around that same time,” he says.

Rishab Shetty is also spearheading the making of Katha Sangama, a tribute to director Puttana Kanagal. This is an anthology of seven stories, helmed by various directors.

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