‘My father Sanjeev Kulkarni was an identity card, but I still made it on my own’

Sourabh Kulkarni might be known for his comedy roles on the small screen, especially the serial Paapa Pandu- season 2. However, Sourabh, the son of noted Television anchor Sanjeev Kulkarni, got his first break as a child artiste in the devotional film, Sri Guru Raghavendra.

Now,  he is set to test the waters with his directorial debut, Siri Lambodhara Vivaha (SLV). Sourabh credits his friends for giving him the push to turn filmmaker, and explains how the film has around 25 people as investors. “During my college days, we had formed a 7-member team, which was named as Nammane Productions. Each one handled different departments of cinema like camerawork, editing and writing. However, the director spot was empty, so I filled the spot. It was Kitty Koushik, a former associate of cinematographer Manohar Joshi, who gave me that first push to get into a full-fledged direction. After having done 5 short films, I’m now set to mark my directorial debut on the big screen with SLV,” says Sourabh.

Sourabh bills SLV, starring Anjan A Bharadwaj and Disha Ramesh, as a commercial family entertainer with elements of humour. “As a director, I was particular not to do an out-and-out comedy. However, the film gives space for people to laugh. SLV has the required commercial elements to cater to all sectors of audiences, especially the masses, and families.  

The film revolves around a wedding, and the leads play the role of Wedding planners, and its complications. “The film’s twist that comes with post interval is unexpected and the highlight of SLV.  
Sanjeev says that his father has been his identity card, but he still made it on his own by attending auditions for the projects. “Of course, my father has been a blessing in disguise at every stage of my career,” he says.

On bringing together 25 producers for SLV, Sourabh says, “I had support of people right from the time I made short films. The investments and profits were usually divided among our friends. I applied this same logic to my first feature film as well, and we had so many people coming as working partners, including actors and technicians. It was like a Tirupathi hundi, where we accepted funds from one rupee to thousands,” he chuckles.

About the casting, Sourabh says, he knew Anjan since his television days and admired his acting potential. “Considering he was trained in Anupam Kher’s acting school, I always knew he was a wonderful actor. We had maintained a good rapport since serial days, and we decide to team up for the silver screen too. As for Disha Ramesh, she is the daughter of my guru and noted theatre artist, Mandya Ramesh. Having known Disha for a long time, I felt she was the perfect fit for this role. We were clear about not having known faces, and I had the confidence to choose the actors from my circle. Since all three of us are from a similar on the age group, and having known each other for a long time, it worked in favour of the film,’ he says.
Distributed by Manjunath Gowda, the film has Kitty Koushik as atcameraman and Sangarsh Kumar scoring the music. The cast also includes actors like Rajesh Nataranga, Sunder Veena, PC  Satish Chandra, Shivu, and Sadananda Khiladigalu in pivotal roles.