The gentlemen behind Kabzaa’s grandeur 

R Chandru’s upcoming period drama, Kabzaa, stars Upendra, Sudeep, and Shivarajkumar along with Shriya Saran. Apart from the stellar star cast, the film is equally being anticipated for its superior
technical finesse. Shivakumar’s artwork, music by Ravi Basrur, AJ Shetty’s cinematography, Mahesh Reddy’s editing, and of course, the action-packed stunt sequences by Ravi Varma, Vijay Vikram Mor and Vinod. Ahead of the release of the film on March 17,we get behind the scenes and interact with the technicians, who share their experience of working in Kabzaa, and what it takes to bring to life a director’s vision on such a big canvas.

I don’t like my art to dominate a film: Shivakumar

Kabzaa has another KGF connect with veteran art director Shivakumar J  bringing to life the vision of director R Chandru. Shivakumar feels that while many filmmakers wanted to do a film on the scale of KGF, only Chandru has managed to achieve this distinction. “Chandru wanted to do a film on that scale and quality, and subconsciously there is an attempt of bringing a KGF-like set up in Kabzaa. Having said that the film is a period drama and it has a unique ambience and atmosphere.” Talking about creating the world of Kabzaa, Shivakumar says, “In KGF, we had to create the world of Narachi, which included a lot of mines. Kabzaa is set in the pre-independence era, post-independence, and well into the 80s. There are three major timelines for the film, and the multiple changeovers were a challenge. Except for the master shots, the entire cinema is set in blocks. Since this film began during the pandemic, there were times we went into creating and recreating most of the sets, as we had difficulties in getting shooting permission. It was a kind of double work from the art department.” Shivakumar asserts that a lot of research was put into creating the world of Kabzaa. “We had 30 major sets and 15 subsets created for the film. I don’t like my art to dominate a film, and I prefer the subject always getting the prominence,” says Shivakumar, who likes the challenge of working under pressure.
Crediting DoP AJ Shetty and composer Ravi Basrur for being standout technicians in Kabzaa, Shivakumar says, “Kabzaa has come out of Chandru’s vision, and a lot of credit should go to him for making a film like this.”

The music of Kabzaa has a blend of ethnic and western music: Ravi Basrur

Post KGF, Ravi Basrur has definitely become a regular in playlists across the country. His next release will be the much-anticipated Kabzaa, which stars Upendra and Shriya Saran in the lead. The composer is also working on Ajay Devgn’s Bholaa, and the upcoming Salman Khan starrer, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. Staying grounded, Ravi Basrur says, “I don’t know how I entered the field of music, and the benefits of anything I do in cinema should go to my hometown of Basrur.” In Kabzaa, Ravi Basrur has composed the background score and four songs and has even written lyrics for two songs, including the title track. “As a music director, my journey with a project starts with the motion poster, and every film has at least 15 key points, where I can make music blend with the situations and elevate them. Kabzaa did have me going by the director’s vision, who has given me more space to experiment with the BGM, and that has helped to add value to emotional blocks in the film. Being a period drama, the music of Kabzaa has a blend of ethnic and western music,” explains Ravi Basrur, adding, “Music elevates the mood of the film, and gives depth to the characters played by stars like Upendra, Sudeep and Shivarajkumar. We also have added a classic touch to the Queen’s role played by Shriya Saran.”

Working with Bhuvan Gowda in KGF came as a plus point for Kabzaa: A J Shetty

Arjun Shetty, popularly known as AJ Shetty, has assisted cinematographer Bhuvan Gowda in KGF, and this experience made it easy for him to work on such a big canvas in Kabzaa. “The experience I gained working with Bhuvan in KGF was a plus point and helped me to understand the subject better. I had great support coming from art director, Shivakumar, and it was easy to work with director and producer, R Chandru.”

Sharing his experience working for Kabzaa, AJ Shetty says that most of the shoot for Kabzaa took place at Minerva Mills, and the team managed to bring in many variations to give this one place a new look. “What was meant as an office place was later converted into a mansion. We had one road, and we used all our resources to ensure it looked different according to our needs. Just that one place had us looking at multiple dimensions,” he says.

Sound plays a crucial role at the edit desk: Mahesh Reddy

Mahesh Reddy, the editor of Puneeth Rajkumar’s Natasarvabhouma, gets his next big break with Upendra’s Kabzaa. The editor believes that his edit pattern will keep the story engaging, and will keep the thrills engaged for the entirety of its two parts. “As for the edit, we have gone with the present trend of big-ticket films, which are more inclined to having a proper narration,” says Mahesh, adding, “The story of Kabzaa gets intercut at three places, and interplayed with various characters. This film has three big stars — Upendra, Sudeep and Shivarajkumar — whose roles carry a certain weightage, and it is definitely a challenge to balance it.”

As an editor, Mahesh likes to be involved right from the scripting stage, and it continues till the day of release. “The edit table work for Kabzaa began much before the shoot. Travelling along with the film, and our presence on the sets comes in handy at the edit desk,” says the editor, who also opines that sound plays a crucial role while editing, and it is the audio that sets the graph of the