Nanda Kishore: Pogaru will prove that I am equally good with original scripts

Nanda Kishore hopes to improve his credibility through his upcoming release Pogaru, which is hitting the screens on February 19.  The director tells us that he was deeply affected when a lot of criticism came his way. “There was a time when people felt that I was dependent on others, that I can’t individually handle a project. Questions were raised on my credibility too. I took all this to heart. I was hardworking and felt that I was always a part of the team, but my work wasn't recognised.”

With Pogaru, he wants to shout out that this is a “whole and sole Nanda Kishore project.” The filmmaker points out that he thinks it is time he got due respect for his efforts, and that his name gets added to the list of directors like Yogaraj Bhat, Suri, and Prashanth Neel.

Talking about his last film, Brihaspathi, which did not make much noise, he says, “People made fun and said that I am only good with remakes. Even though my first directorial, Victory, was an original film, nobody talks about it today.  Giving a hit with a remake is also not an easy thing. I am here to prove that I can do both. However, I can vouch that every scene in Pogaru will be novel.”

Explaining about the role he has sketched for Dhruva in the film, Nanda Kishore says, “The lead character is notorious and we have used words like Karaabu, which is regularly not heard from a hero. Pogaru is an attitude that comes with confidence.”

Besides the commercial elements, viewers will also get to see an emotional mother-son relationship, which is the focal point of the story, Nanda Kishore reveals. He cites the example of the blockbuster, Jogi. “Before Jogi hit screens, people thought it was based on a subject about rowdies, but everyone walked out of theatres with a lot of emotions after watching it. A mass film can bring in the emotional quotient as well. That’s the feeling you will get with Pogaru also,” he says.

The ‘appaji’ relationship that he shares with Dhruva Sarja came naturally, Nanda Kishore says. “All the stars are like kids who need a lot of attention, pampering, and convincing. I see him as a kid, and he calls me appaji,” adds the director, who expresses his gratitude to the actor and producer BK Gangadhar for offering him this project when he was at the lowest phase of his life.

Speaking about the importance of Pogaru, which is also getting released in Tamil and Telugu, he says, “Today, we are no more classified as a Kannada, Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam director; language barriers have vanished. It is all about showcasing our talent to other regions.”

Pogaru, which also stars Rashmika Mandanna as the female lead, along with Dhananjay, Mayuri, Sampath, Chikkanna, and Kuri Pratap, has been in the making a long time, and Nanda Kishore assures that it will be worth the wait. “People have often talked about the project being delayed, and it did hurt us. We never knew that the pandemic would halt the world for almost a year, nor could we predict the tragedy in Dhruva’s family. But, despite the project being in the making for almost three and a half years, it is still trending. That is what I call ‘luck’,” he signs off.