6ne Maili will silence naysayers who say Kannada films are technically inferior: See Ni

His first film as director is yet to release, and as his second looks set to become his launchpad, director See Ni is happy at the turn of events. He believes that his film, 6ne Maili, will be silence all naysayers who claim that Kannada films tend to be technically inferior to those from other south Indian industries. Ahead of the film’s release, he talks to us about his journey into films, making 6ne Maili and more…
Journey into films
A true-blue Bengalurean, with roots in Mandya, I am the youngest of four children from a middle-class family.As the youngest, I grew up as the family favourite, so, even when I dropped out of college my family didn’t throw tantrums and, instead, looked at securing my financial stability by setting up a business unit for me. Academics was not my strong point, as my passion lay in cricket. But as it turns out, for the next eight-odd years, I ended up running a firm that dealt with structural engineering. Somewhere along the way, I developed an interest in writing for theatre and was involved with a group, most members of which are big names in Sandalwood today. As my friends made inroads in Kannada cinema, I also got introduced to it, which is when I began hearing comments comparing our films with those from, say, Telugu or Tamil and how we fail to meet those standards. That struck me and I wondered why we couldn’t be as good as them. Given that I have an interest in writing, I began writing scripts that I thought would put an end to these comments. My first narration was to Shivarajkumar, who patiently sat through it. This was a big thing for me, and gave me the confidence that I can turn filmmaker. That film didn’t work out at that point, but may in the future. One thing I have been told is that I am good story teller, so when I had my next script narration, the first producer I met decided to make it. But the film, Pallavi Talkies, got stuck after we finished shooting. Then, as I was wondering what my next step would be, a friend introduced me to Dr Shailesh Kumar, a neurosurgeon who was looking at foraying into film production. I told him the story of 6ne Maili and three days later, he signed me up to make the film.
Destination 6ne Maili
My scripts so far, be it Pallavi Talkies or 6ne Maili, have been based on real-life incidents and my own experiences. But as an admirer of the works of filmmakers like Ram Gopal Varma, Anurag Kashyap and Anurag Basu, my scripts tend to be suspense thrillers or horror based. I am also a big fan of Upendra as a director and believe that no one edits films as well as him. 6ne Maili, for instance, is a suspense thriller about a bunch of trekkers going missing at a particular point. Like my previous film, this is a script that I wrote myself, after 6-9 months of research. Each character in the story has been etched with complete detailing, so much so that after my narration, all members of the cast and crew were crystal clear about the tale and what was expected of them. I also had detailed discussions with my core technical team and incorporated certain changes which all of us believed was for the betterment of the project.
Films for family
Throughout this journey, my family has been immensely supportive. I literally burnt my hands with Pallavi Talkies. I am still struggling, but I have a passion towards films and the dream to succeed someday. I need to achieve this for three people in my life — my mother, my elder sister and my close friend, Chottu — as I know that it will make them immensely happy.