‘Why is the audience making these films big hits’: Did Venkatesh Maha speak out of turn on KGF?

Venkatesh Maha: Director Venkatesh Maha's comments about commercial cinema and KGF have brought the age-old debate of commercial film vs art film to the fore. The the ‘two-movie-old’ filmmaker, Maha perhaps spoke out of his turn during a recent interview conducted on the occasion of Women’s Day.

Others present during the interview besides Maha were writer-directors Indraganti Mohana Krishna, Nandini Reddy, Vivek Athreya, and Shiva Nirvana. The interview was shared on YouTube on March 5.

Portrayal of women

The panelists mostly talked about the portrayal of women. But suddenly Maha courted controversy when he spoke against KGF and how the character of the mother was portrayed in it.

Maha said that if sensible filmmakers like himself and others on the panel decided to set aside certain ethical reservations, they could easily make much better sword-wielding, goon-bashing commercial films than the makers who are being praised for such films at present.

He did not name KGF but rubbished the portrayal of the mother’s character in the film. “I want to meet this utterly selfish woman who advises her son to amass wealth through whichever means, get surrounded by it at the time of his death. We applaud the hero and laud his efforts when he builds narrow cubicles for people who dig up gold for him; takes all that gold to the sea to get buried in it. What are we telling our audience? Why is the audience making these films big hits?” he asked.

KGF fans take umbrage

Maha’s comments created a storm though the video scored around one lakh views.  KGF fans took umbrage and trolled the director. On the other side the film fraternity too rejected the director’s comments.

Nandini Reddy has apologized for having caused any hurt. Venkatesh Maha himself released a statement on Twitter, apologizing for the language he used. But he stood by the views he expressed.

Venkatesh Maha made a sensational debut in 2018 with his Care of Kancharapalem which received general and critical appreciation both, before winning several awards. The film was later remade in Tamil and Kannada also. His second feature – Uma Maheshvara Ugra Roopasya, was a remake of the Malayalam hit Maheshinte Pratheekaaram, and was a straight-to-OTT release.

He has also directed a segment in Modern Love (Telugu) and had a role in Ante Sundaraniki that released last year. His next outing would also be as an actor in the upcoming OTT release Anger Tales.

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