Filmmakers make beeline for a cobbler

A talented cobbler in Morab hamlet of Raibag taluk in Belagavi district has caught the attention of movie-makers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad thanks to his artistic leather chappals.
Sanju Devmane, 35, has a petty shop at the village where he makes leather chappals and repairs old ones. He's famous for making them in the antique style which were worn by royalty earlier.These are particularly popular with film directors who order them for their movies.
He supplied 10 pairs to the team which made the recent Kannada blockbuster `Krantiveer Sangolli Rayanna' and one of them was worn by Darshan, who plays the main character. Earlier, he supplied chappals for another Kannada movie `Shuklambharadaram' and Tollywood movie `Magadheera', directed by SS Rajamouli.
Devmane, who has studied up to class 7, went into the family profession after his father died 18 years ago. Inspite of being in a hamlet, he upgraded his art of making chappals which are in sync with contemporary fashion. He also makes shoes for police officers and belts for dogs. People from surrounding districts like Vijaypura, Bagalkot and some in Maharashtra like Kolhapur and Sangli also place orders with him.
Sanju Devmane gives his father credit for teaching him the skills. “People come to me from far away. I don't know how they get my address. I try to meet the order within the promised time,“ he said.