Film industry marred by intellectual bankruptcy'

Addressing the participants of cinema appreciation course at Maharani Science College for Women organised by its Association of Fine Arts, Sheshadri said cinema should contribute for the growth of the society.  However, there is no correlation between commercial cinema and life at all.

“Film industry for long, has clung on to ready formulae and that has created an imaginary world similar to that of a bubble. Thousands of films which have been made in the history of 75 years of Kannada film industry have done the same thing,” he noted.

Revealing his take on commercial cinema, Sheshadri said that category is rather too humdrum and formulaic and is devoid of any space to aid intellectual growth of the audience.

“Hence, even the audience don’t challenge themselves with any new ideas while watching such stuff. Actor Ambareesh has been revealing the dark side of politicians ever since his film ‘Anta’ was released in the ’80s. However, corruption still refuses to go.

The life of a politician or any central character is not the same as what’s being seen on the screen. But, not many a cinema bare this truth,” he added. Replying to a query on the selection of storyline or themes for a film, Sheshadri said: “Kannada literature is a mega treasure trove of excellent stories. Many stories are worth becoming a movie. I have chosen stories from literature of this land for my two films. The story and its details further grow with the help of life’s experience. I made ‘Vimukti’ based on father-daughter relationship and faced a lot of criticism for that. However, I am proud that I could bring forth a much-shunned topic to be debated by people.”

Hanur Krishnamurthy, programme coordinator D Sheelakumari, T S Venugopal, principal H B Mallikarjunaswamy and others were present on the occasion. Film ‘Vimukti’ written and directed by Sheshadri was screened at the workshop, attended by students from about 17 schools and colleges in the city.