From Darshan to Puneeth Rajkumar, Kannada stars rise above ‘mine’ and ‘yours’

Extensive support given by big stars to some Kannada films that were released over the past two weeks has further boosted the confidence of fellow actors. Stars like Darshan, Puneeth Rajkumar, Yash, Sudeep, Rakshit Shetty, and Sriimurali, among others, have openly stood by the latest releases such as Prajwal Devaraj’s Gentleman, directed by Jadesh Kumar Hampi; director-actor Krishna’s Love Mocktail; and KS Ashoka’s Dia.

While Puneeth Rajkumar wished good luck and success, and talked about the various films, Yash, in his latest video message, had a few words to say about Dia, and requested the audience to encourage good films and watch them in theatres. Sriimurali also mentioned about Ashoka’s directorial, tweeting, “Dia is a movie, which should reach everyone.”

Here is what the stars had to say about these films:

Darshan: 'Let’s encourage artistes and technicians from our industry'

Darshan, who attended the pre-release event of Gentleman, requested the Kannada audience to wake up. He said, “Behind a film, there is a lot of effort from technicians, artistes, and the whole crew, and these films need cine-goers’ support and encouragement. We always feel proud to be Kannadigas, but we desert our regional cinema. Let’s encourage artistes and technicians from our industry; this will help them prove their mettle.”

Gentleman, the first production venture of director Guru Deshpande, is doing well in theatres.

Sudeep: 'Glad to see Love Mocktail finally getting its due'

Krishna’s latest release, Love Mocktail, has been supported by Sudeep, who is glad to see the film running to houseful shows. “Glad to hear Love Mocktail is finally getting its due. It was saddening to see the film not getting the response and collections it deserves. I loved every bit of the film and look forward to all of you watching it. My love to Krishna. Much power to you, friend,” said Sudeep. He later mentioned, “I'm thankful to all those who supported Love Mocktail. It’s indeed a joy to see that initiatives were taken to make this film reach everyone. It truly deserves this response. Happy to see it finally doing well.” 

Rakshit Shetty: 'A good Kannada film like Dia should win'

Dia, which opened to good response from critics, enjoyed support from actors like Yash, Sriimurali, and Rakshit Shetty, which helped it reach a larger audience. Rakshit, who watched Dia on Sunday, has been raving about Ashoka’s directorial. He even made the film’s poster his profile photo on Twitter. Through a series of tweets, Rakshit explained why Dia needs to be watched by everyone. “Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. That’s all I can say. Rush to the theatres now, now, now. I love you all in advance for saving it. I know you will. Dia is the most beautiful film I have watched in recent times,” he posted.

The actor told Cinema Express, “Dia is a well-crafted film, and for me, a good Kannada film should win. When you watch the film, you know that the team has made a lot of effort. The director, in particular, is a good craftsman, and for the Kannada industry to grow, directors like him should survive. If they die, the Kannada industry will never grow. As of now, we have a dearth of good filmmakers here, and we should recognise a good filmmaker. I want Ashoka to win.”

Rakshit added that for the Kannada film industry to survive and do well, 20-25 good Kannada films should be made in a year, for which at least 30 good directors are needed. “To reach this number, we should encourage directors who are currently working towards making good cinema. They would, of course, improve with each film, but we need to recognise the talent, and they need our support,” said Rakshit, adding, “There is no point in thinking that only our films should do well. If four films do well out of 200 odd, then a lot of Kannada films releasing every year is not a good sign at all. We need to churn out good films constantly for the audience to come to theatres. If 10 good films come from new directors, 10 films feature big stars, and another 10 come from the average and established actors, we will have at least have 30 films to attract cine-goers.”