Mahadev Prasad and Sri Priya in the film.
Credit: Special Arrangement
For decades, people have been coming to big cities with dreams and aspirations. Among the various sectors that have been able to create opportunities, the film industry still remains a far-fetched dream for many.
The realities of working on a film set can be quite a contrast to all that the industry appears to be from the outside. The glitz and glam is not enjoyed by all. Most crew members either end up settling in the face of reality or stumble upon their roles by fluke. ‘BTS — Behind the Scenes’ attempts to narrate such stories.
The audience will get to see five stories by multiple filmmakers in this anthology film.
‘Banigondu Elli Ellide’ addresses the problems faced by the families of fans whose lives succumb to hero worship. By using simple events, director Prajwal Raj tries to convey that revering a hero on screen will not make you one. With dull performances and a laid-back narrative, the film hardly impresses.
In Sai Srinidhi’s ‘Cigarette, Coffee and Lines’, a “feminist, secular, and progressive” director pitches his stories to an enthusiastic actor. The conversations between the two and the stories narrated are quite entertaining.
Kuldeep Cariappa brings in multiple aspects in his ‘Hero’. The technically sound film offers a glimpse into the world of rag pickers. At an empty site overlooking luxury highrise apartments, a rag picker sits with his girlfriend discussing his future as a star, dreaming of living in one of the apartments.
The problems writers go through especially when attacked by writer's block are explored through a bizarre narrative in Rajesh Shankadh’s ‘Blockbuster’. A writer who gets writer’s block while writing a movie about a writer with writer’s block — truly mind boggling.
Of all the five films in the anthology, Apoorva Bharadwaj’s ‘Sumoha’ stands out the most. A make-up assistant’s (a brilliant Mahadev Prasad) tall tales and his lived reality come face to face. Apoorva poignantly explores the simple life of a make-up assistant who aspires to become the chief of make-up, in a rom-com fashion. It is heartwarming and restores your faith in love. Once an actor told me the reason why he likes to watch films by women directors is that they give importance to the details. Apoorva's film proves that, yet again.