Before anything else, KM Chaitanya wants to clear the air about Balaramana Dinagalu being a biopic. "It is not a biopic," begins Chaitanya, adding, "There was a rowdy called Balarama in the 1980s, but this film is not his life story."

The clarification is important because Chaitanya's return to the world of gangsters inevitably invites comparisons with Aa Dinagalu, the landmark film that altered the course of Kannada crime dramas. Nearly two decades later, Balaramana Dinagalu sees him return to familiar territory, exploring Bengaluru's underbelly not to glorify violence but to uncover the humanity within it.

Ironically, Chaitanya insists that neither film was something he actively pursued. Balaramana Dinagalu began when producer Shreyas Jayaram and Padmavathi Jayaram, who had already planned a film with Vinod Prabhakar, wanted to make a film in the spirit of Aa Dinagalu. Chaitanya came on board, bringing his own perspective to the project.

Talking about Aa Dinagalu still fills him with wonder. He recalls how writer Agni Sreedhar initially approached him for a role. Fascinated by the material, Chaitanya shared his thoughts on the screenplay. Eventually, Sreedhar offered him the opportunity to direct the film. "The Bengaluru of the 1980s and early 1990s shaped me. That's the Bengaluru I miss. Whenever I get an opportunity to recreate it, I jump at it," says Chaitanya, sharing that nostalgia was one of the driving forces behind Balaramana Dinagalu.

However, recreating the city from that era came with challenges. "A period backdrop means everything has to be created from scratch, and everything comes at a price," he says, crediting producers Padmavathi and Shreyas for supporting the film's vision. Chaitanya also shares that he is drawn to underworld stories not for the crimes, but for the people behind them. "We grew up listening to stories of kings and wars. Those stories haven't disappeared. Today, they exist in politics through elections, power struggles, and territorial figures who rule neighbourhoods. People are also drawn to that."

The key, he says, is empathy. "One principle of writing is that you must write with empathy. Heroes have flaws. Villains have human elements. That's what makes characters complex," says Chaitanya, adding that it is also why violence in his films is never celebratory. "When films show violence on screen, it should never be glorified, and instead, remind people that violence is wrong."

For Chaitanya, everything begins on the writing table. "I come from a family of writers. Girish Karnad was my mentor. Writing is where a film is truly made," says the filmmaker, revealing that the first draft of Balaramana Dinagalu ran to nearly 500 scenes before being distilled into a much leaner screenplay. He also shared his excitement about the team behind the film, including composer Santhosh Narayanan and his Aa Dinagalu cinematographer HC Venu.

Speaking about Vinod, the director says he was drawn to the actor's versatility. While Vinod is often associated with action-driven roles, Chaitanya believes the film allows him to showcase a broader range of acting. The film also features Priya Anand, Vinay Gowda, Atul Kulkarni and several fresh faces.

Despite directing only a handful of films since Aa Dinagalu, Chaitanya doesn't blame circumstances for the gaps. "Laziness," he admits, and adds, "Cinema involves money, people, and responsibility, and I had to take time between films."