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MUSICAL CALL Director Ratnaja believes the songs of Honganasu are like an invitation card

“Nenapirali” was appreciated by critics and cinema fans for its hummable music, neat narration and emotional strength. It also turned Prem, a daily-wage worker, into a star overnight. Prem shops for his clothes abroad now. Well, Ratnaja went back to the storyboard, polished the script of his dream project “Honganasu” and got his buddy Ajay Gowda to start the film, pronto. Ajay was also the producer of “Nenapirali”.

So what’s his second film about? “Well I’m tempted to use the word different but will desist. All I’ll say is that a particular segment in the film is unique; never seen before,” says a confident Ratnaja. “The story starts in the middle and goes back and forth. I’m happy with the narration. Prem has performed superbly and as usual my guru Hamsalekha’s lyrics and tunes challenged my abilities to picturise the songs.” The film has two new heroines —Anuradha Mehta and Anjali. When “Nenapirali” was released, producer Ajaywas a novice, new to the wayward ways of the film industry. The film did well thanks to word-of-mouth publicity. “The music is like an invitation card. It can entice or put off audiences. I’m confident the songs of ‘Honganasu’ will arouse curiosity,” says Ratnaja. The film is slated for release in the last week of December.

*** The ban has been lifted and Vijay is back to donning the grease-paint. “I’ve learnt my lessons. The film industry is a ruthless place, and if you are weak-willed, then God save you. You have to realise that the warmth and smiles are synthetic and will last only till you are successful,” says the bitter star.

Tabloids are full of his off-screen exploits and turbulent family life. “My family has been dragged into this and I’m very hurt. I wanted to keep them out of the spotlight but now I see pictures of my family in shady publications. It doesn’t take a genius to realise who’s behind all this slander,” says Vijay.

He’s shooting for ‘CM In Love’ being made by Ravi Belagere. The film is supposed to be based on the political and personal life of Kumaraswamy. While Loknath plays Deve Gowda, Bhavna is a starlet. Vijay has also agreed to do a film for Agni Sreedhar and one for Rockline Venkatesh.

*** Upendra is enchanted by Kashmir. He’s just shot two films there and can’t stop raving about the place. “I can’t understand why people have stopped shooting there,” he says even as he’s stranded at Delhi airport on his way back. “It’s heaven on earth. We go all the way abroad when we haven’t shown our audiences how many beautiful places we have here,” says the star. When I suggested that fear of security was one of the factors, Upendra even insisted it was safe. “We didn’t have a single problem. No sounds of gunfire…and it’s so relaxing.” So if producers want Uppi’s dates on a priority basis they should throw in a schedule in Kashmir.

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