Ramu’s death is a big loss to the Kannada industry: Devaraj

It is shocking, I didn’t expect to lose Ramu so early. He was a modest and soft-spoken person and, most importantly, a filmmaker who genuinely loved making cinema. As someone from a modest background, cinema was a passion for him.
Ramu would do anything to make good cinema. His passion showed in his approach. We were shooting for Lockup Death in Kemmangundi.It was a schedule involving a major chase scene. It was planned for five days, but went on for about a fortnight. I told Ramu that it was hard to manage my schedules for him. His prompt response was that I should not manage the schedule for his sake, but for the film, as he was making one of the best. I was stumped by his conviction. He had big visions and dreamt big. I remember wondering why he was committing so much to the film, when I knew my market. He reassured me that he would take care of that and only sought my cooperation. Such was his confidence in his love for cinema. His passing is a great loss for the Kannada film industry. There are very few passionate producers in the industry and he was one of the leaders.
Back in my heyday, he had made three films with me, after which there was a lull in our interactions, until Prajwal became a hero. Ramu always loved our family. I have worked with his wife, actress Malashree, in many films and known her closely. She has been through a lot in life and found a lot of happiness once she married Ramu. I don’t know how she will cope with this loss. I pray that she gets all the strength to do so.”
- As told to Sunayana Suresh