At age 61, Shivarajkumar climbed 400 steps just for this photoshoot: Hemanth M Rao

Drector Hemanth M Rao, who is collaborating with Shivarajkumar for a historical film - Bhairavana Kone Paata - gives us a sneak peek into the project in an exclusive chat with Bangalore Times. “The movie is set in the 12th century, but has a fictional premise that gives a feeling of something that is lost in the pages of history. World building becomes very important when doing a historical film, and a lot of research goes into it.We are speaking to historians. It is a fictional story, but re-imagining that era is very important to us,” he says.

‘I HAD TO FIGURE OUT A NEW LOOK FOR SHIVARAJKUMAR FOR THIS FILM’
“Shivarajkumar plays his age in this film. There is a certain persona and charm to the character he is playing. He has done so many films and I had to figure out a new look, which was almost impossible because he has done everything. I, however, got more clarity as I started writing the character. We did the character look photoshoot near Gudibande, and Shivarajkumar is so committed that even at this age he climbed 400-odd steps just for a photoshoot,” says Hemanth.

‘MY GOAL IS TO COME UP WITH TITLES THAT RESONATE DEEPLY WITH AUDIENCES’
Starting from Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, Hemanth’s movie titles have grabbed attention for their uniqueness and for being rooted in Karnataka’s heritage. His latest project, too, has evoked a lot of curiosity. “I know that the current trend is to go with the pan-Indian appeal, but stories are about identities; it is about us, our people and our language. Just like how a parent would think a million times before naming their child, and pick one with a lot of love, I also choose my film’s titles similarly. I try to find a title that resonates the most and I am glad people are taking notice,” he says.