Not mocking Daivaradhane tradition, only telling world about Koragajja: Director Attavar

Bengaluru: Sahitya Akademi award-winning author and film director Sudheer Attavar said there is no reason to object to his film on Koragajja Daiva, as he is a devotee too.

"I just wanted to tell the world the incredible story of this Daiva, one of the main deities of the Daivaradhane tradition of Tulunadu," Attavar told PTI.

A section of people in Karnataka, particularly from Tulunadu, where people worship nearly 4,000 Daivas, have been calling for a ban on the film, stating that it mocks their beliefs.

"Even during shooting for the film, I faced a lot of problems because the goons attacked us, we had to stop shooting. I lost lakhs and lakhs of money. I really don’t know why we were attacked like that. It is not my intention to mock the Daivaradhane tradition or Gods. I am a believer and I took permission from Koragajja by performing a ‘buta kola’ (shamanistic dance performance like seen in blockbuster 'Kantara') before the start of the shoot," said Attavar.

Attavar said he started working on 'Koragajja' even before 'Kantara' that talked about Panjurli Daiva and Guliga Daiva. The film is now scheduled for a December release.

The film, Attavar said, is the result of nearly 18 months-long research.

"There are a lot of contradicting stories that float around Koragajja. So, I went through some literature, interviewed many experts, including tribal people, especially those who claim to be part of Koragajja’s family – they live near Bengaluru. The more I got to know about Koragajja Daiva, the more I realised his story would make a compelling film," said Attavar.

When he described the story to producer Trivikrama Sapalya, Attavar said he immediately agreed to produce it under the banner of Trivikrama Cinemas.

"In fact, quite recently, happy with how things have shaped up with the film, Sapalya has gifted me a car at an event we organised to celebrate the completion of shooting," said Attavar.

Vidyadhar Shetty of Success Films also became part of the venture, said Attavar.

He also said Shetty helped him with the research as well and he is also one of the editors of the film.

Apart from veterans from the Kannada film industry like Bhavya, Shruthi and Sandip Soparrkar, Bollywood actor Kabir Bedi will also be portraying an important character, said Attavar.

"He plays a king, Udyavara Arasu. The story takes place about 800 years ago. Bedi is just perfect for the character. I could not think of anyone but him to play the character," said Attavar.