When a medical practitioner turned filmmaker

It may seem strange when a medical professional, and that too one who is doing very well in his field, decides to plunge into filmmaking. But for Dr

BN Shailesh Kumar

, the man behind the upcoming suspense thriller

6ne Maili

, launching his production house — Sri Nagabhrama Creations — while also busy setting up his own hospital, comes with an agenda.

Getting to where he is today has been far from easy for Dr Shailesh. “My father expired when I was in Class 9 due to kidney failure, which we failed to realise as there was no money in the house to run any tests. Even taking his mortal remains back to our village in Harihar was a struggle owing to our financial status. My mother, who still lives with me, was all set to take me and my siblings back to our village, but there were several good Samaritans, including the principal of my school, the owner of the house we stayed in, etc., who came to our assistance at crucial junctures. Over the years, there have been many others who chipped in when I needed tuition fees or money to eat a meal, without whom I would have never gotten to where I am today,” says a teary-eyed Dr Shailesh, adding that he owes his professional success to the guidance of Dr AS Hegde and Dr NK Venkataramana, and personal to his brother-in-law, Dheeresh Kumar.

The fact that he received such love and help from people around him has only spurred him along to pass it on to the needy, for which, he has set up his own foundation back in his village, the objective of which is to conduct social activities like health camps, free ambulance services, eco-friendly measures to increase green cover, job fairs, education scholarships, etc.

In the course of his work as a neuro specialist, Dr Shailesh met many from the film industry, some of whom were his patients, while some referred their near-and-dear. His interactions with them and his own love for cinema, given that he is a die-hard fan of the late matinee idol Rajkumar, is what got him to explore cinema as a

producer

.

His debut film, the See Ni-directed 6ne Maili, is the second script he ever heard. “The first would have been with a star kid, but the atmosphere was not conducive for me to go ahead with that project, as there was a lot of interference from that family. Eventually, when I heard See Ni’s narration, I was floored by the subject, because it aligned with the agenda of my foundation to create awareness, and because it had National Award winner Sanchari Vijay headlining the cast,” he says.

Going forward, Dr Shailesh wants to make more films that are commercially viable, yet have socially-relevant messages, while also continuing the good work with his foundation.