Kannada star Upendra returned to the lead after eight years with his recent release, UI. The actor started out as a filmmaker in the early 1990s before embarking on his acting career ten years later. But in recent years, direction has taken a back seat. Now that he is back in the director’s chair, the critically acclaimed star talks to HT about his new film, the trend of pan-Indian films and why Formula will never win. (Also read: Upendra to share screen with Rajinikanth in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie? Here’s what we know)
Upendra’s latest release UI is the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2024.
Upendra on the UI
A hallmark of Upendra’s films is that they have sparked debates. Some call his climaxes confusing; others have called them “thought-provoking.” Upendra laughs at the ‘confusion’ he has caused. “I always try to explain everything with dialogue, images and stuff. I really don’t want to cause confusion. But maybe because the topics are such that the more I try to explain, the more they get confused,” says he. with a laugh: “I think deep down we’re all confused. None of us have the clarity in life that we want.”
UI, his latest film, is a dystopian drama set in the near future. The film pokes fun at everything from casteism to obsession with cricket and cinema in modern India. Talking about using real-life parallels to tell the story of an autocratic society, he says, “Sometimes you have to exaggerate a little to get your point across and to make people understand it more seriously. It’s like satire. I think that’s what dystopia should do. be a little comic, only then it can be a satire if there is humor in it.”
Upendra on pan-Indian cinema
UI was released in Kannada, as well as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, in what was called a pan-India release. Talking about the process, he says, “It’s like making five films at once because you have to understand what works in each language and what clicks in each culture. Some things that work in Kannada may not work in other languages. . Pan- India is not that easy to make successful.
However, Upendra doesn’t believe it pan-India formula is a recipe for guaranteed success. Elaborating on the choice of some filmmakers to cast actors from all over India to make a film pan-India, he says, “It can help reach the audience. Yes, it is easy to identify a particular audience from that state or language. The audience shows more interest that way. But it comes down to the story. The market is only for stories, nothing else.
But ultimately, the actor-filmmaker is happy that the trend has done one good thing: slowing down remakes. “Everyone is already watching every movie in their language. So the trend of remakes has already come to an end. People don’t make Hindi remakes and Tamil remakes as much anymore. There might be a few here and there. But which ones people are making remakes? is the trend, and that is pan-India.”
UI was released in theaters on December 20 and became the highest-grossing Kannada film of 2024 in just over ten days. The film has more than earned ₹40 crore worldwide in less than two weeks, and has also received unanimous praise from critics.