Thursday, January 31, 2013

ರಿಯಲ್ ಸ್ಟಾರ್ ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ಹೊಸ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಹೆಸರು ಔಟ್

ರಿಯಲ್ ಸ್ಟಾರ್ ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ಮತ್ತೆ ಆಕ್ಷನ್ ಕಟ್ ಗೆ ಮರಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಅವರು ಸ್ವಂತ ಬ್ಯಾನರ್ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಹೆಸರು 'ಉಪ್ಪಿ 2'. ಆದರೆ ಇದು 'ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ' (1999) ಚಿತ್ರದ ಮುಂದಿವರಿದ ಭಾಗವಂತೂ ಖಂಡಿತ ಅಲ್ಲ ಎಂದಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಉಪ್ಪ್ಪಿ. ಉಪ್ಪಿ ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಇನ್ನೇನು ಹೊಸ ಕಥೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೋ ಏನೋ ಎಂಬ ಕುತೂಹಲ ಇದ್ದೇ ಇದೆ. ಈ ಕುತೂಹಲಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರೆಬೀಳಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಕೊಂಚ ಸಮಯ ಕಾಯಲೇಬೇಕು. ಉಪ್ಪಿ ಅವರ 45ನೇ ಹುಟ್ಟುಹಬ್ಬಕ್ಕೆ (ಸೆಪ್ಟೆಂಬರ್ 18, 2013) ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ತೆರೆಗೆ ತರಲು ಸಿದ್ಧತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ.

ಕಥೆ, ಚಿತ್ರಕಥೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆಯನ್ನೂ ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ಅವರೇ ಹೆಣೆದಿರುವುದು ಈ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ವಿಶೇಷ. ಗುರುಕಿರಣ್ ಅವರ ಸಂಗೀತ ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಉಳಿದ ಪಾತ್ರವರ್ಗ, ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ಬಳಗದ ವಿವರಗಳು ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟೇ ಹೊರಬೀಳಬೇಕು. ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ 'ಉಪ್ಪಿ 2' ಚಿತ್ರದ ಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಜೋರಾಗಿ ಓದಿಕೊಂಡರೆ 'ಉಪ್ಪಿಟ್ಟು' ಎಂದೂ ಕೇಳಿಸುವುದುಂಟು. ರವೀನಾ ಟಂಡನ್, ಪ್ರೇಮಾ ಹಾಗೂ ದಾಮಿನಿ ಅವರನ್ನೊಳಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದ 'ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ' ಚಿತ್ರ ಶತದಿನೋತ್ಸವ ಆಚರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿತ್ತು. ಬಾಕ್ಸ್ ಆಫೀಸಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾರಿ ಸದ್ದು ಮಾಡಿದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೂ ಒಂದು. ಈಗ ಉಪ್ಪಿ 2 ಚಿತ್ರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆಯೂ ಅಂಥಹದ್ದೇ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಗಳಿವೆ. ಸೂಪರ್ (2010) ಚಿತ್ರದ ಬಳಿಕ ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ಯಾವ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನೂ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಈಗ 'ಉಪ್ಪಿ 2' ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಕೈಗೆತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವುದು ಅವರ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳ ಪಾಲಿಗೆ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಸಂತಸದ ಸಂಗತಿ. ಉಪ್ಪಿ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನದ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಬಾಕ್ಸ್ ಆಫೀಸಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋತ ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲ.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

'UPPI-2' Getting Ready

Utopian Upendra is all set to launch a home banner film. This is not a sequel but the title 'Uppi-2' leaves a suspicion that it is a sequel.

In 1998 Upendra directed and acted a film for producer Shilpa Srinivas and it was titled as 'Upendra' - the film starring Raveena Tandon, Prema and Dhamini ran for 100 days and it was a mixture of breeze, fire and rain in the film.

Now after 14 years Upendra is taking up a project for his home banner. It is 'Uppi-2'. Gurukiran is scoring music again. Upendra has done the story, screenplay, dialogues besides direction. 'Uppi-2' is in the production of Priyanka Upendra. For last year Upendra birthday the film banner was launched by star's wife Priyanka. She intends to release the film 'Uppi-2' for 2013 birthday of Upendra.

To the ears when the title is fast narrated it hears as 'Uppittu' (mouth watering popular food item. Meanwhile the only film ready for release for Upendra is 'Topiwala' in the direction of Srini. 'Topiwala' is a film releasing on the eve of election has many injections to politicians from Upendra. In the year 2012 Upendra appeared in a few remakes - Godfather (remake of Varalaru), Kalpana (remake of Kanchana) and Arakshaka (English film remake) but 'Katari Veera Sura Sundarangi' was a hit film made in 3D.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Upendra directional films Reviewed by Foreigners (H2O)


http://filmigirl.blogspot.in/2012/04/h20-upendras-watery-delight.html#more
Filmy Girl :
I purchased Kannada film H20 a while back, sight unseen, because it is a Superstar Upendra film. Upendra is one of those rare actors who also doubles as a force of nature - every film he touches generates a huge swirl of interest. I’m not sure why it took me so long to get around to H20 other than perhaps I needed some time (like a year) to put the pieces of my brain back together after having my mind blown by Uppi with A. And I needed all my mind fully assembled to begin this because H20 is not just a regular film, it’s a filmi allegory for the Kaveri River water dispute that has raged between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for over 100 years. Though I don’t think one has to be aware of the specifics to be moved by the film, it certainly does help to provide context for why the film was so controversial when it was released and why any DVD of the dual-language film will either have the dialogues dubbed into Tamil or Kannada, depending upon which side of the Kaveri River you purchase it on.

H20 begins in peace - two villages, one on each side of the river, and a couple in love, one from each side of the river. Naturally, for the film to have any forward momentum, this delicate state of affairs must come unbalanced. Enter evil, personified in the form of a dark-skinned hunchback with an evil eye named (I think) Krataka. His every footstep leaves scorched earth and the soundtrack that follows him chants his wickedness.* Krataka spies a flower and crushes it, turning beauty into garbage. Krataka spies the couple in love canoodling on the beach and turns their romance into vicious arrows of nasty gossip that shoot out and hit people from both villages. The fragile peace is shattered and the couple in love is threatened by a mob of angry people. The man is torn to pieces on the shore while the woman escapes on a boat, only to give birth and then promptly die. The baby is taken to a monastery where she is raised.

And that baby grows up to become the lovely Kaveri (Priyanka), who is a beloved healer to the villages on both sides of the river.

Now the fun begins.

[And keep in mind that I don’t know anything about the fight over the Kaveri River to draw any parallels between that situation and the film so please don’t construe any of this as political in any way. - FG]

The crux of the drama of H20 is a love triangle of sorts with Kaveri in the middle. Batting for the village in Karnataka is Uday Shankar (Upendra), a killjoy prick who insists on giving Kaveri lessons every day in how to love him, despite her lack of interest anything of the sort. Batting for the village in Tamil Nadu is Vair Muttu (Prabhudva), a flashy returnee from America who has given everybody in his village a baseball cap and doesn’t have any particular interest in Kaveri... at least at first. Some of the love triangle drama is fairly standard and filmi - Muttu’s mother pleading with her son not to trifle with Kaveri’s feelings - while some was a lot more twisted and creepy - like Uday’s “love lessons”.

Kaveri is given all the choice in the matter and yet no choice in the matter.

Uday uses every trick in the book in order to get her to chose him. He attempts to manipulate her feelings with “love lessons” and scolds her for not properly gazing into his eyes. He attempts to just forcefully marry her. And when those don’t work he uses emotional blackmail and does things like have his own goons beat him up in order to get her to feel pity.

Meanwhile, Muttu is all but ignoring Kaveri. Even though she saved his life a few years ago, he is too interested in his shiny new car and his political aspirations to have time for the girl from the village. Yet, a series of incidents lead him to desire her - first to spite Uday and then for her own sake. Muttu doesn’t go for the forced marriage route, when Kaveri suddenly stops pursuing him and he realizes what he’s losing, Muttu pulls the old “I’ll kill myself if I’ve done something to offend you” route.

The most clever trick in the script, however, is the use of the past life flashback. The past-lovers reunited in a new birth plot device has been used in films since there were films and it’s still used today (Magadheera, anyone?) so this wasn’t totally unexpected but the way that Upendra uses the narrative device is extremely clever and very thought-provoking. [Minor spoiler alert!] What happens is that Kaveri, on the run from Uday, whom she emphatically does not want to marry, stumbles across a hermit in the forest. He spins her a yarn about her past life as a princess who loved the past version of Uday and whose entire family was murdered by the past version of Muttu. Like the devout girl that she is, Kaveri takes this to heart and begins to see Uday and Muttu in a new light but what Kaveri doesn’t see is Krataka lurking around and cackling while all this goes down.

Is this yarn spun by the hermit true or false? And how much should it affect Kaveri’s feelings? The answers we’re left with are ambiguous.

H20 is an Upendra film through and through. Of the many fascinating things he decided to do with it, one of the most fascinating was his decision to make Uday so unbearably awful. Uday sits as judge, jury, and executioner of his own village - casting judgement on everybody and everything around him. He hates wealth and yet his power seems to derive, in part, from the fact that his father used to the be the wealthy landlord of the village. He struts around like he owns the place and yet seems to do little to no real work of his own. His “love lessons” with Kaveri are beyond creepy and it’s no wonder she runs away from him at every opportunity. Upendra seems to be having a ball doing all of this, which makes even his creepiest of moments really fun to watch.

Prabhudeva is perfectly cast as Upendra’s flashy love-rival because if there is one person who can pull a party directly from the screen into your living room, it’s Prabhudeva. His entrance scene, in which he emerges one shiny-trousered leg at a time from the window of a flash red sports car, is a sight to behold. Of course Kaveri is in love with him. Who wouldn’t be? And he’s not just Uday’s love-rival but also the capitalist foil to Uday’s no-fun socialist. While Uday’s village has to give all their money to Uday, who will decide how it gets used, Muttu goes around giving everybody cool clothes and baseball caps. Of course everybody loves him. But Muttu has also lost touch with his village roots - he doesn’t even recognize Kaveri’s worth at first - and can you really have true wealth when you’re so disconnected? Isn’t it all just imported gloss?

Kaveri is an interesting character. She’s little more than an object to be battered about between these two men but she knows it. I really liked Priyanka in the role, she is quite the charmer.

All in all, H20 is quite a trip. Though a lot more commercial than A, it’s still an oddball film, which I approve of. One of the topics that pops up from time to time on the blog is the corporatization of Bollywood and how there no longer seem to be any auteurs with wild visions left making films. I don’t think a film like H20 could get made in Bollywood these days - forget the politics of it, a character like Uday wouldn’t even get past the first round of audience testing and all that ambiguity would be hammered into something more palatable for the casual viewers flipping past films on cable. Why do people make films? Why do people watch them? Films like H20 are one of the many reasons my attention has drifted from the by-the-numbers vapid thrillers and even more vapid rom-coms that Bombay has been churning out and towards the Southern industries where auteurs are still out there hard-selling their singular visions.

* Help me out here Kannada speakers - is it saying paapa? The subtitles translate it as “sin” or “sinner” but I’m curious if that’s really the best translation. And is his name Krataka? Wikipedia says it’s Kireek but I swear that is not what people were saying. Let me know if I’m wrong, and I’ll change it. Actually, tell me if I get any of the spellings of the names wrong and I will change them. The subtitles were next to no help on this.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

UPPING the Awesomeness !

Upendra is all set to wield the megaphone once again. This time, it will be for none other than his wife Priyanka, who is producing the as-yet-untitled film under her own banner! Needless to say, he will play the lead role in the movie.

In fact, Upendra released the print advertisement of his directorial venture some time back, as a collage of Kannada and English letters, without any title. It is Upendra’s unique style to raise the curiosity levels among his legionnaire of fans. Ask him about the title of his project and his reply is, “Let’s look at all the possible titles my fans come up with. Then, I shall freeze on one.”

Monday, January 14, 2013

'ತಲೆ ಇಲ್ಲದವರಿಗೆ' ಮಾತ್ರ ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ರಿಯಲ್ ಟೋಪಿ!

ಟೋಪಿ ಹಾಕಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವವರು ಯಾರು? ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ತಲೆ ಇಲ್ಲದವರು. ತಲೆ ಇದ್ದವರಿಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟು ಸುಲಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಟೋಪಿ ಹಾಕುವುದು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ರಾಜಕಾರಣಿಗಳು ತಾವು ಟೋಪಿ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು ಇತರರಿಗೆ ಟೋಪಿ ಹಾಕುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಟೋಪಿ ಎಂದರೆ ಮೋಸ ಮಾಡುವುದು. ಹೀಗೆ ಮೋಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಕಲೆಯನ್ನೇ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಹೇಗೆ? ಹೀಗೆ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಚಾರ ಹಾಕಿ ರಿಯಲ್ ಸ್ಟಾರ್ ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ಕಥೆ, ಚಿತ್ರಕಥೆ ಬರೆದಿರುವ ಚಿತ್ರವೇ 'ಟೋಪಿವಾಲ'!

ಉಪ್ಪಿ ಬರೆದ ಕಥೆ, ಚಿತ್ರಕಥೆಯೆಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಕೆಟ್ಟದಾಗಿರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಗ್ಯಾರಂಟಿ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ 'ತಲೆ ಇಲ್ಲದವರಿಗೆ' ಎಂಬ ಟ್ಯಾಗ್‌ಲೈನ್ ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೂ ಅವರು ಇದನ್ನು ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಲು ಹೋಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಉಪ್ಪಿಯ ಅಡಿಪಾಯವನ್ನು ಬಳಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ ಬರೆದು, ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಿರುವುದು ರೇಡಿಯೋ ಜಾಕಿ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್. ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪ್ಪಿಗೆ 'ಜಾಕಿ' ಭಾವನಾ ಮತ್ತು ಕನ್ನಡತಿ ಮೈತ್ರೇಯಿ ಎಂಬ ಇಬ್ಬರು ನಾಯಕಿಯರು.

ಗುಟ್ಟು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಕೊಡದವರಲ್ಲಿ ಉಪ್ಪಿ ನಂಬರ್ ವನ್. ಆದರೂ ಕಥೆಯೇನು ಎಂಬ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳು ತೂರಿ ಬಂದವು. ಆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಉಪ್ಪಿ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಜಾಣತನದಿಂದ ಉತ್ತರ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ನುಣುಚಿಕೊಂಡರು. ಆದರೆ ಎರಡನೇ ನಾಯಕಿ ಮೈತ್ರೇಯಿ ಕೆಲವು ಸುಳಿವುಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಟ್ಟರು. ತಾನು ಮತ್ತು ಉಪ್ಪಿ ಜುವೆಲ್ಲರಿ ಅಂಗಡಿಗೆ ಕನ್ನ ಹಾಕುತ್ತೇವೆ ಅನ್ನೋದು ಅವರಿಂದ ಹೊರ ಬಿತ್ತು. ಉಪ್ಪಿಯಂತಹ ಸ್ಟಾರ್ ಜತೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಅವಕಾಶ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿರುವುದೇ ಗ್ರೇಟ್. ನಟನೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಅವರಿಂದ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಪಾಠ ಕಲಿತಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಎಂದರು.

ಕಥೆಗೆ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್ ತುಂಬಾ ಸಹಕಾರ ನೀಡಿದ್ದರು. ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನನ್ನ ಬೆನ್ನ ಹಿಂದೆ ಬೇತಾಳದಂತಿದ್ದರು. ತುಂಬಾ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಚಿತ್ರೀಕರಣ ಬಹುತೇಕ ಮುಗಿದಿದೆ. ಇನ್ನುಳಿದಿರುವುದು ಒಂದು ಹಾಡು ಮಾತ್ರ. ಅಷ್ಟಾದರೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆಯದ್ದೇ ಜಪ ಎಂದರು ರಿಯಲ್ ಸ್ಟಾರ್ ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ.

ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಇಬ್ಬರು ನಿರ್ಮಾಪಕರು. ಏಳೆಂಟು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಉಪ್ಪಿಯ 'ಓಂಕಾರ' ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿದ್ದ ಕನಕಪುರ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್ ಮತ್ತು 'ಶಿವ' ಖ್ಯಾತಿಯ ಕೆ.ಪಿ. ಶ್ರೀಕಾಂತ್. ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಉಪ್ಪಿಯನ್ನು ಅಪಾದಮಸ್ತಕ ಹೊಗಳಿದರು. ಉಪ್ಪಿ ಮೇಲೆ ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ಭರವಸೆಯಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ್ ಹೇಳಿದರೆ, ಶಿವರಾಜ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ನಂತರ ನನಗೆ ಉಪ್ಪಿಯೇ ಫೇವರಿಟ್ ಎಂದರು ಶ್ರೀಕಾಂತ್.

ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ವಿ. ಹರಿಕೃಷ್ಣ ಸಂಗೀತ ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಶ್ರೀಶ ಕೂದವಳ್ಳಿ ಕ್ಯಾಮರಾ ಹಿಡಿದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ರಂಗಾಯಣ ರಘು, ರಾಜು ತಾಳಿಕೋಟೆ, ರಾಕ್‌ಲೈನ್ ಸುಧಾಕರ್, ಮುಕ್ತಿ ಮೋಹನ್ ಮುಂತಾದವರು ಕೂಡ ನಟಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಈಗಿನ ಲೆಕ್ಕಾಚಾರಗಳ ಪ್ರಕಾರ, ಚಿತ್ರ ಫೆಬ್ರವರಿ  ೨ನೇ ವಾರದಲ್ಲಿ  ರಾಜ್ಯದಾದ್ಯಂತ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆಯಾಗುವ ಸಂಭವ ಇದೆ .


Saturday, January 12, 2013

Who is Topiwala - Mind Game from Upendra

Known for tricks and gimmicks in his films Upendra has come out with another interesting mind game to attract crowd for his ‘Topiwala’ Kannada cinema.

According to Upendra the audience should answer who is real ‘Topiwala’. Look at this – Among 26! 2+1+19+1+11=Topiwala. Solve the problem and find out who is ‘Topiwala’ says Upendra.

When letters of English alphabet are put together for this above puzzle it becomes –BASAK – it is read from reverse it is ‘KASAB’.

Topiwala’ ...Thale Illadavrigalla (those who don’t have head) is getting ready for audio release. Srini is director of this film. V Harikrishna has scored the music, Srisha Kodhuvalli is cameraman. Jackie Bhavana, Tulip Joshi and Maithrie are heroines fo Upendra in this Kanakapura Srinivas production.
  Movie is scheduled for Feb 14 release.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Wayanad is perfect for creativity: Upendra

Kannada superstar Upendra has a new favourite destination. After spending days in the midst of the greenery at Wayanad, in Kerala, the actor-director says there has been no other place that has facilitated creativity for him and his team.

"My team and I spent a large part of December at Wayanad. We had gone there to work on the script of my next film. The place is so green and fresh that it made for a perfect setting for all of us present," says Upendra.

While the film Upendra is currently working on remains untitled as of now, his fans have suggested he name it Upendra 2 - a sequel to one of his earlier hit which was titled Upendra. "There is no name as of now. It is a psychological thriller and has all the elements that make it an 'Upendra' film," reveals a source close to the star.

I want my own identity: Priyanka Upendra

Actress Priyanka Upendra may be better known as Kannada superstar Upendra's wife, but with over 12 films to her credit after marriage and motherhood, she's working at recreating her own identity. In a chat with TOI, Priyanka tells us all about life with Upendra, working again with Ravichandran, and of balancing work and family. Excerpts...
How tough is it really for married actresses to gain a foothold in the film industry? It's not easy, not because you don't get offers, but more because you have so many more responsibilities after you are married and have children. But I would consider myself fortunate for getting the right kind of films. I was away from the industry for around four years, and got back to the scene with Bengali films. Coming back to Kannada films took a while because people assume you would not want to do films after marriage. I did one film with my husband, Upendra, and that helped open doors again. With 12 releases after motherhood, my career seems to be back on track.
Do people see you differently because you are married to a superstar like Upendra? It is great to be a superstar's wife. I love every moment of it, but at the same time, it is equally tough to create an identity of your own. I have been known as an actor before, and now the challenge is to be recognized as an actor again, rather than just as Upendra's wife. I do want my own identity as well.
Do you see a change in the kind of roles coming your way now? Yes. The characters that I am offered now are more mature. That is good in a way, because performance becomes a priority. I like the offers that are coming my way.
You are working with your Malla co-star Ravichandran this year. What's it like to work with him again? It is great to be working with him again. Ravi sir's film is inspired by the Malayalam hit —- Traffic. Though, there are changes in the story to accommodate his style of direction. He plays a star in the film, and I play his wife — something that I relate to in real life as well.
Malla created more controversy than necessary back then. Did you have any apprehensions about being paired with Ravichandran again? Malla hit screens soon after my wedding. It was a glamorous role, and Ravi sir shoots his heroines that way. All his songs are glamorous. If I was not married at that time, probably people would not have reacted to the songs in Malla the way they did. Getting married to someone of Upendra's stature changed the way people perceived me — as his wife. My next film now, of course, is very different and will put things in perspective.
How involved do Upendra and you get when it comes to the kind of work the two of you do? Films are all that we are both extremely passionate about. We talk a lot about work, consult and give each other opinions about various aspects of filmmaking. However, we do not influence each other with our views. We realize that it is important to give each other the space for creative freedom.
What's it like to be married to Upendra? We are very different people, and that makes the relationship interesting. Upendra is very spiritual as far as his work is concerned. He is not materialistic, to the extent that he does not pay any attention to anything apart from work. His mind is always occupied. I come in there to ensure the rest of his life is in place. For instance, I plan his wardrobe because I feel as actors we owe it to our fans to look good when we are out in public.
What about family time? We do take off on vacations once in a while. For Upendra, a vacation means eating and sleeping. And he gets eager to get back to work after three days. On the other hand, I like going out and exploring new places. We try to merge work and holidays at times. Within the city, it is impossible to go out as a family. People recognize him everywhere and it is not right for us to demand privacy in a public place either. So we hang out with friends and tend to visit star hotels only when there are special occasions.
How are your children, Ayush and Aishwarya, coping with all the attention? We've actually made an effort to give our kids a very basic and grounded foundation. They go to regular convent schools, where there are people from different religious and economic backgrounds. We hope to give them a good base, the old school way. They do not get any special preference because they are Upendra's kids.
What's up next for you? Apart from Ravi sir's film, I have a Hindi film called Enemmy with Mithun Chakraborthy and KK Menon. I plan to turn producer with Upendra's next directorial venture. The script is currently being fine tuned. I do have plans of directing films. Hope 2013 makes way for that as well.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Upendra and Priyanka back in town after Christmas vacation


Kannada star Upendra and his wife and actor Priyanka have just returned from a much-need vacation in Singapore. The star couple and their children Ayush and Aishwarya spent the vacation with family and friends.

"It's really tough to get everybody in the family free at the same time. While the kids and I can manage to take time off, it is tough to get Upendra to take some time off. So a vacation like this requires a lot of planning and last minute changes too. Luckily, it all worked out well this time," says Priyanka.

The end of the vacation means the beginning of a lot of work too, as Upendra is currently fine tuning a script for his next directorial venture, and Priyanka is yet to complete the last schedule of her film, Crazy Star, with Ravichandran. "And the kids, of course, have to go right back to school," adds Priyanka, who also ensures she spends a good part of her evenings helping them with homework.