Katha Sangama: Seven directors, one movie

The anthology brings together seven directors — Kiranraj K, Chandrajith Belliappa, Shashi Kumar P, Rahul PK, Jamadagni Manoj, Karan Ananth, and Jayashankar A
Katha Sangama: Seven directors, one movie

Katha Sangama is an upcoming anthology conceptualised by Rishab Shetty as a tribute to legendary director Puttana Kanagal. The latter was the first director to come with an anthology in 1976. Rishab has jointly produced the film along with HK Prakash and Pradeep NR.

The anthology of seven short films brings together seven directors — Kiranraj K, Chandrajith Belliappa, Shashi Kumar P, Rahul PK, Jamadagni Manoj, Karan Ananth, and Jayashankar A. The team also consists of seven different groups of cinematographers, musicians, and editors. Ahead of the film’s release on December 6, Cinema Express talks to the seven directors who have helmed the different stories in Katha Sangama.

Chandrajith Belliappa

The episode handled by Chandrajith Belliappa is set in an urban background, and he calls this slice-of-life story the simplest of the seven. It features Kishore, Yagna Shetty, and Baby Midnika. Belliappa has tried telling it as a simple story of little joys surrounding a father, mother, and daughter. “It is about fathers who share a special bond with daughters, and how they transform into a child while taking care of them. This is my ode to all such men out there,” he says.

The short film has cinematography by Arvind Kashyap and music by Gagan Baderiya. The director, who was previously a software developer, quit his job and became a full-time writer at Rakshit Shetty’s Seven Odds.

Karan Ananth

Karan Ananth’s short film in Katha Sangama deals with the rare genre of magic realism. “Sathya Murthy is a 60-year-old employee at an insurance company. A day before his retirement, his anxiety enters a regretful phase. How does he make peace with himself? That’s the core idea,” he says.

The film, with story and screenplay written by Madhuri N Rao, stars Prakash Belawadi and Sowmya Jaganmurthy. With music by Vasu Dixit, Deepak Yeragara has handled the cinematography and Bharath MC is the editor.

Karan entered the cinema profession through a short documentary titled The Blind Side, which won several awards at regional and international festivals. The filmmaker, who has worked in companies like DreamWorks animation, forayed into mainstream Kannada films with Gultoo. He has assisted many filmmakers in India and abroad. Katha Sangama happened when The Blind Side, was selected from 2,500 entries.

Sashi Kumar P

Sashi Kumar has been working in the Kannada film industry from 2013, and has been a part of acclaimed films like Lucia, Ulidavaru Kandante, Ricky, and Kirik Party. Katha Sangama is his first film as a full-fledged director. “My story is a fantasy comedy-drama. It has a small but pivotal element of science fiction which is incorporated in a folklore-ish way. The protagonist, Vini (Raj B Shetty), is having trouble with his love life. His girlfriend is unhappy with his general attitude towards life, and the uncertainty of their future, and wants to break up. What if you get a second chance in such circumstances? The film is about how the lead handles this delicate situation,” he says.

The film has music by Dossmode and cinematography by Gomtesh Upadhye.

Rahul PK

Two people with opposing ideologies get stuck in a room. What happens over the next half an hour between them and how they discover each other’s perspectives forms the crux of this film, written and directed by Rahul PK. The film features Balaji Manohar, who has also worked on the additional screenplay. The cast also includes actors like Pramod Shetty, Ram Manjonath, Shree Harsha Malaya and Prasad. It has cinematography by Sandeep PS, music by Udith Haritas, and editing by Vinayak Guhanarayan.

Jai Shankar

Director Jai Shankar works in an IT company and works on short films during weekends. “Filmmaking is my alternate profession,” he says. His story is about an immigrant woman from north Karnataka and her encounter with Bangalore city. It’s told through a realistic style of filmmaking. “The cameras were hidden for many shots. All the actors are non-professional artistes. The lead actress, Paravva, is a farmworker in a village in Hubli. The other two actors — Beeresh and Raghavendra — work with a packers and movers firm and taxi company, respectively. Though the story happens in Bengaluru, the characters speak in a dialect of north Karnataka,” the director explains.

The film has music by Vasuki Vaibhav, while Saurav Prateek Sanyal has handled the cinematography and Chandan M is in charge of editing.

Jamadagni Manoj

Jamdangni Manoj has directed a period drama set in the 1900s during the struggle for Independence in the Mysore province. “This short story is about a barber who has lost his family and friends at the hands of an officer, Kaalappa, an Indian working for the British. Kaalappa visits the barbershop for a shave. What happens when the barber meets Kaalappa forms the rest of the story,” he says.

Jamadagni Manoj is an IT engineer in Bengaluru, and is making his debut as a director with Katha Sangama. He has attended a scriptwriting workshop in San Francisco, USA.

His film, starring Avinash and Hari Samasthi, has music by Girish Hothur. Ranganath CM and Abhishek M have handled the camerawork and editing, respectively.

Kiran Raj

Kiran Raj’s short film is the sixth segment and it revolves around three important characters — Rishab Shetty, Hariprriya, and a dog named Rumy. “The highlight of my film is that there are no dialogues throughout, and the actors have spoken just with their expressions,” Kiran Raj says. “The plot was ideated when I was working as an associate director for Rishab sir in Ricky. Initially, it was planned only as a short film with Rishab Shetty and Rakshit Shetty in the lead. Later, after Hariprriya listened to the script, she showed interest in being a part of the project. That is how she came on board. When the idea of Katha Sangama was established, Rishab asked me to direct it,” he adds, revealing that Rishab plays a beggar in the film, which was shot at Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi.

The film has music by Nobil Paul and cinematography by Venkatesh Anguraj. Rithwik Rao has handled the editing.

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