Vijay Kiragandur: It is imperative to nurture new talents, fostering growth in the Kannada industry

Yuva Rajkumar makes his acting debut with Yuva, which is releasing this Friday. It is backed by Vijay Kiragandur’s Hombale Films, which is known for notable projects like KGF, Kantara, and Salaar. Yuva marks the first instance where Hombale Films has ventured into launching a newcomer. Speaking on this, producer Vijay remarked, “Puneeth Rajkumar had talked to me about introducing Yuva Rajkumar under our banner, a prospect we were considering. Moreover, we need to recognise the requirement for fresh talents in the Kannada industry, and we saw this as a positive step from our production house. Nowadays, with a limited number of big stars gravitating towards pan-India projects, it is imperative to nurture new talents, fostering growth in our industry.”

With Yuva Rajkumar hailing from the Rajkumar family, the production house aimed to provide him with a grand debut. “We were meticulous in selecting the director for his maiden film and assembling a proficient team of technicians,” says the producer. Will this become the norm for every newcomer who has talent? “Yes, definitely,” Vijay asserts.

Drawing parallels with the Telugu industry, Vijay noted, “They boast at least 15 A-list stars, a facet where Kannada cinema lags behind. Our industry has a handful of stars, and we can’t rely solely on them to come out with films at regular intervals. To ensure the sustainability of the industry and theatres, there needs to be a concerted effort towards the workers union. It is important to generate more work. Secondly, audiences today seek either films that are usually larger-than-life experiences or deeply engrossing narratives. So considering all this, it is important to tap into fresh talents to meet these demands, which then helps in the inflow of work in the industry,” says Vijay.