'Love Mocktail 2 is best experienced as an individual film'

February seems to be a lucky month for the Love Mocktail couple of Krishna and Milana Nagaraj. The duo’s Love Mocktail was released in February 2020, and then, the reel-life couple became a real-life couple after they tied the knot in February 2021, and now, they are set to release the sequel to Love Mocktail this month on February 11.

The overwhelmingly positive reception for Love Mocktail has only raised the expectations for the 2022 sequel. But, did this increase the responsibility for Krishna, who is not just the writer and director, but is also backing the film along with Milana? “High expectations will lead to market growth, and as producers, we are already safe. But as a writer and director, there is anxiety as to how the sequel will be accepted. Having said that, in a way, I had definitely moved on from the first part when I started scripting for the sequel,” says Krishna, who mentions he has put the same honest effort that went behind the making of his debut directorial.

Milana says, “Krishna has taken less pressure with the Love Mocktail sequel because he is confident about the film’s content, and how it has shaped up. But for both of us, keeping up with the audience’s faith is a challenge.”

Krishna, admits that he is not a regular writer, and it is usually Milana who does the actual writing because his handwriting is bad. He also has his own style of direction. “Till date, I don’t really have an in-depth understanding of the making of a film. For me, I want to tell a story in a simple way, and my focus is on explaining it with the right kind of emotions. The audience should connect with the story, which is presented with a good narrative,” says Krishna.

As a writer, Krishna feels that penning humour is easier than writing emotional episodes “There is an emotional scene, which took me at least 8 months to get it right. I usually take time to write scenes that require heightened emotions, and I prefer to write it alone, and in my own pace,” he mentions. They do agree that acting in the scenes written by them is an advantage. “We become each other’s mirror. It will help us to gauge the sequences, and decide if it will go with the narrative and the character arcs,” explains Milana.

Love Mocktail 2, distributed by KRG Studios, also stars Rachel David as the female lead and features Sushmitha, Abilash, and Kushee Achar in pivotal roles. Nakul Abhyankar has scored the music for the film, and Sri Crazy Minds has handled the cinematography.

Unlike Love Mocktail, which traced the journey of Adi from his school days to his college life and marriage, the sequel doesn’t have this vast a time frame. Krishna says, “The sequel happens over a span of 15 days, and it is way more compact than the first part.”

Signing off, Milana points out that comparisons between the two parts might be inevitable but audiences should see Love Mocktail as an individual film. “The film will be better enjoyed if the audiences are not curious to know the story. Instead, just head to theatres and enjoy all of it on the big screen.”