‘Writing ACT-1978 was a challenge’

ACT- 1978, directed by Mansore, is a writer’s movie in a big way, says TK Dayanand, who has co-written it with Mansore and Veerendra Malllanna (Veeru). “The story, screenplay, and dialogues are an important tool in this social thriller,” says Dayanand who has penned the dialogues and handled the screenplay with Veeru.

“As a writer, this is my third release, after Benki Patna and Bell Bottom, and the challenges were much bigger than my previous films,” Dayanand says, adding, “The film is a hostage thriller. The bottom line of the subject is exploring the current bureaucratic set-up and their ignorance towards common people’s grief. It reflects the responsibilities of government servants. We wanted to highlight that without making it preachy.”

With the subject of ACT- 1978 so close to reality, the team had to do a lot of research to translate it to cinema, says Dayanand, who took references from old news reports, consulted police officers, and went through a lot of case studies.

“ACT- 1978 is not a commercial entertainer. It is a story that runs on events, and the narrative and dialogues have been given the maximum importance,” the writer says. “The film also helps in educating the public with the common basic laws, which every person should be aware of.”

The film has cinematography by Satya Hegde and music by Rahul Shivshankar. It stars Yajna Shetty as the protagonist, and has Pramod Shetty, B Suresha, Achyuth Kumar, Shruti, Sanchari Vijay, Avinash, Shobraj, P D Sathish, and Krishna Hebale, along with some theatre artistes playing key roles.