Story of Mayabazar 2016 struck me when my vehicle got towed: Radhakrishna Reddy

“The story of Mayabazar struck me when I met a policeman who towed my vehicle. I fought with him but ended up dropping him home. During a short conversation, I heard his story and realised their struggle, and how they are always looked at as villains. That was the genesis of my film, whose underlying theme is the cost of honesty,” says Radhakrishna, who took inspiration from the cop to write his hero, played by Achyuth Kumar. “The other characters fell in place automatically. There was a lot of chaos which took place during demonetisation, and I have represented this in the film,” he adds.

“I got into writing when I was in pre-university. While I was doing short films, a producer randomly offered me a film and wanted me to come up with a subject like the Telugu romcom, Pelli Choopulu. Though I felt such films won’t work in Kannada, the producer’s approach helped trigger the idea for a feature film. I even wrote a love story revolving around an elderly couple. However, it didn’t take off,” says Radhakrishna, adding that he came up with the story of Mayabazar 2016 overnight.

Ahead of the film’s release on February 28, Radhakrishna, a film buff, is excited about his directorial debut, which is being made under the banner of PRK Productions. This happens to be the second production of actor-producer Puneeth Rajkumar. 

Radhakrishna is overwhelmed that his first directorial is being made under the PRK banner, and says it wouldn’t have been possible without producer M Govinda. “He initially liked the story because it was about demonetisation, and the subject was blended with humour, which caught his attention. He had a rapport with Puneeth since he had worked with him in Doddmane Hudga. We met the actor-producer right around the time when he was starting his production house. Puneeth liked the way I approached the story, and he decided to back the project,” explains the director.

The film has music by Midhun Mukundhan and cinematography by Abhishek G Kasargod. The cast comprises Raj B Shetty, Vasishta Simha, Prakash Raj, Sudharani and Chaitra Rao.

Mayabazar 2016 will also see Puneeth making an appearance in a retro song sequence.

Radhakrishna admits he found it extremely challenging to handle the project. “What you visualise in your head and what you get is completely different,” he says, adding that since the film caters to audiences from different backgrounds and regions it comes with additional challenges. “Film-goes are of all ages between 13 and 60. And reaching out to all of them is a herculean task.”