‘Banaras’ is a mysterious love story: Jayathirtha

The film has been shot mostly in Varanasi and captures the divinity of the place

Kannada director Jayathirtha known for films like ‘Beautiful Manasugalu’ and ‘Bell Bottom’, is all set to release his newest project, ‘Banaras’.

In a candid chat with Metrolife, he reveals more about the project.

‘Bell Bottom’ was a hit. Did you face pressure while working on your next?

There were many offers but I chose to work on ‘Banaras’. I don’t work based on the success of my previous films. I always compete with myself and the end results don’t bother me.

I have worked on a lot of films with newcomers. Such films always let you think freely.

Tell us more about ‘Banaras’.

A few scenes in my first film, ‘Olave Mandara’, were shot in Varanasi. I had decided then that I would do such a film.

It took nine years for the idea to shape up. Zaid Khan (son of politician Zameer Ahmed Khan) was looking for a film project and approached me. I kept him in mind while I wrote the script.

It is a mysterious love story but is deep-rooted in the philosophy of the place. The divinity of Varanasi has been explored well in ‘Banaras’ and the entire story happens there. Some portions of the film was shot in Bengaluru while 90 % was done in Varanasi.

Why did you choose Varanasi for the shoot?

Varanasi is a mystical place, where last rites and other poojas are performed at the same time. Bodies have been cremated for thousands of years here and all this inspired me to write the story. My lead characters are inspired from there.

Any challenges faced during filming?

In February 2019, ‘Bell Bottom’ was released. We wanted to start shoot in August and headed to Varanasi, but had to head back home due to floods. We shot the Bengaluru portions of the film in September and October that year and by January 2020 we completed portions in Varanasi.

In February 2020, we started post-production. There were two songs left for which we were scouting for spots at Sri Lanka and Bangkok. We continued post-production work and when Unlock happened, we completed the songs.

When will the film release?

The film has got its censor certificate. Though the film is made in Kannada, we will be releasing it in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam too.

We are in that process and the dubbing is being planned. We are planning for a year-end release.

How was life during the pandemic?

I worked on another story with Rishi as the lead, which is a part of an anthology film, ‘Aaddarinda’, with four other directors. By end of 2020, I shot my story. It includes thrill, touches on human relationships, and has humour. I have completed dubbing too.

I also worked on the script of ‘Bell Bottom 2’, where all the characters will be reprised. It’s a story where the detective continues with his next case.

On a personal front, I experienced a big loss — I lost my sister in the Covid second wave.

She was full of dreams and had plans for the next 20 years but suddenly she was taken away from us. This inspired me to do more out of all the time I have.

I watched a lot of web series and a lot of movies in other languages. I learned a lot and understood that the script and storytelling must always be fresh.