Real life meets reel

For the lead cast of debutant director Gaurish Akki's

Cinema My Darling

, the film is almost a slice of real life. The film explores the trials and tribulations that they ' Vihan Gowda,

Manojava Galgali

, Shashi Deshpande and

Shreyas Narasimha

' face in trying to make a name in movies.

Today, Manojava may be a known lyricist in Sandalwood, but his aim, he says, was always to become a director. 'Thirteen years ago, when I was studying in Pune, I had taken an exam in which I had 13 papers back-to-back. I am not sure if it was the exhaustion of studying late hours every day, but I managed to sleep through the final exam and, thereby, flunked the subject. During the break that I had before I could clear that paper subsequently, I directed a street play that won accolades and I realized that I liked the craft. I knew that I had to master the art before venturing out as director, and believe that I should be ready soon,' he says. In the film, Manojava plays an aspiring director, who idolizes filmmakers like Puttanna Kanagal and his ideas of filmmaking do not enthuse producers. He also deals with personal issues, as his girlfriend pressures him to make something of his life and marry her,' explains Manojava.
For Shashi, a popular name on Kannada TV thanks to programmes like Haage Summane, among many others, Cinema My Darling was almost about playing himself. 'I am from Hubballi and speak the Uttara Karnataka dialect, the intonations of which can sound funny. Add to that the fact that I am funny, and I can leave anyone in splits. Gaurish and I were colleagues at a Kannada channel for a while, during which time he often recorded our conversations. My character, Basava Patil, has been written based on Gaurish's observations of me and he provides much of the laughs in the film. He is a Hindustani classical musician from North Karnataka, who wants to become a music director,' says Shashi.
Being one of the four leads in Cinema My Darling is a first for Shreyas, despite nearly a decade in the film industry. 'I have worked as an assistant director and have even acted in a few films in minor roles. Interestingly, Gaurish spotted me in a 16-second cameo that I did in Dayal Padmanabhan's Yogaraj... But and offered me the role of Adarsh in his film. My character is an aspiring cameraman who comes to Bengaluru from Mangaluru. I had to attend workshops to get the dialect right,' he says.