Pruthviraj Patil, the director of Vikalpa, begins by explaining the idea behind the film. It is about what happens when someone gets stuck between what is real and what is imagined. “In that state, you cannot clearly understand either,” he says.
He does not begin by discussing filmmaking. Instead, he speaks about the mind, confusion, and moments when it becomes difficult to separate reality from imagination. This is not presented as a promotional statement, but as an explanation of the film’s central idea. It indicates that the film is driven by personal experience rather than by a planned career decision. Vikalpa is scheduled to release in theatres on January 30.
“Reality looks different every day. Someone who feels kind today may feel unfamiliar tomorrow. That uncertainty is what fascinated me,” he says, explaining why the idea stayed with him long before it became a film.
Pruthviraj is a techie who has travelled widely and handled multiple responsibilities. By instinct, he is a theatre artist who has lived on stage since he was in class 4. “Despite being in the tech world, which has been my profession, I never left theatre, and that journey eventually pushed me to become a writer and director.”
But the moment that truly forced the question of cinema came during the pandemic. Pruthviraj suffered both Covid and dengue, slipped into a coma, and was kept on life support. He also faced temporary memory loss and had to undergo imitation therapy.
“I was very close to death. When I came back, I started thinking about unfinished dreams. Making a film was one of them. That experience changed how I looked at time and risk,” he says.
It is here that Vikalpa stops being a concept and becomes a response. He returned to a script he had written in 2018, originally scribbled in a torn notebook. “In 2021, I took that script and reworked it for the present time. It took me almost a year to reshape it,” he recalls. What followed was not a rushed leap into production, but months of groundwork. “Six months went into workshops, casting, and storyboarding. We finally went to shoot in December 2022 and kept working through 2024, often while juggling our day jobs,” he says. The commitment eventually demanded a sharper choice. “I even quit my tech job in December just to make sure the film reaches release properly. I will return to work in February. If the film does well, then I will think about what comes next.”
The central plot of the film deals with post-traumatic stress, but Pruthviraj refused to approach it clinically. “If I told this subject directly, it would become a documentary. I wanted it to be entertaining and intriguing," says the filmmaker, who resorted to building a unique narrative to aid this process. “I followed a hold-and-release screenplay pattern. Every twelve minutes, something shifts and unsettles you. You keep questioning whether you are watching reality or imagination. The second half answers those questions.”
Piece by piece, he added different layers to the psychological thriller. “There are about fifty-eight minutes of comedy. Laughter after emotional moments has value, and I witnessed an overwhelming response at recent premiere shows, when people laughed and even got emotional. I knew we had touched something real.”
Casting, too, followed the idea of invisibility over familiarity. “We wanted anonymity. We did not want star presence to interfere with the story. Nagashree Hebbar, who plays the protagonist, has performed in over 150 plays and more than 550 shows across India but is new to cinema. Ganapathi Hegde Vaddinagadde brings 35 years of theatre experience. Harini Sreekanth, who is known for her pivotal roles in cinema and television, plays the psychiatrist. She is very pragmatic in her approach and suited to what the role demanded. Most of the cast came through auditions, largely from theatre. For me, performance and character mattered more than recognition,” he explains.
Pruthviraj has also written the story, screenplay, and dialogues for the film. “It was a stretch, but when you choose something out of the ordinary, you cannot expect an ordinary process. My theatre background helped me trust actors and focus on structure,” he adds.
The film is produced by his wife, Indira Shivaswamy, with both stepping in as co-investors. “I also had Mithun Thirthahalli working with me on the screenplay and as associate director,” he says. Interestingly, Mithun was the editor of Lucia. Pruthviraj also roped in theatre veteran Suresh Arumugam for the film, which marks the latter's 98th project as an editor. Music is composed by Samvatsara, and cinematography is by Abhiram Gowda.
A first-time director, he is aware of the quiet certainty behind his risk. “Every person carries a story inside, and cinema gave me a way to tell mine, and maybe remind people that between what we feel and what we face, there is always a moment where we can choose again,” he signs off.