Passionate about films

Ever since his first production — Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, he struck a chord among the audience who were seeking a different kind of  entertainment. Thereafter, the engineer- turned-film producer, a distributor and an aspiring actor, Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah has at least ‘10 films’ in queue readying for release in 2020  along with three more new projects to kickstart soon. Of them all, Avane Srimannarayana is one of the most anticipated projects in Sandalwood after KGF, which is set to hit the screens worldwide in multiple languages from December 27. Made in five languages including Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, it took nearly three years in the making— a rarity in the Indian film industry in the recent times after Bahubali and KGF, with importance given to every minute detail. The man behind the dream of making Avane Srimannarayana along with his team speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle about his series of films including his decision to start his own distribution house along with Mohan, his acting aspirations and more.

“Right now, Avane Srimannarayana is finally hitting the screens after three years of hard work. The entire team right from Rakshit Shetty has put in their best, and as a filmmaker, I stood by their creative vision by facilitating what a good project needs without any kind of hindrance. Releasing it in five languages was a conscious decision from the beginning itself when the team sat for writing. Rakshit post Kirik Party was getting a lot of offers and his decision to make this happen deserves appreciation,” Pushkara shares.

Coming from a humble background, Pushkara studied engineering even as he simultaneously would run a small venture, a snooker club back in his hometown in Tumakuru. He recollects how he would take a train in the morning to attend his classes in Bengaluru and then get back to Tumakuru by evening to look after the club.

On acting aspirations, the filmmaker who is a multitasker reveals that his passion for films drives him to do many things. “My job as a filmmaker is to facilitate the best of minds in the filmmaking, so that the rest of it falls in its place accordingly. I’m looking forward to perform. With the quality of the filmmakers, I am confident that I will be able to pull it off.”

After Avane Srimannarayana, his other projects — Bheemasena, Avatara Purusha, a film starring Vinay Rajkumar including the Malayalam film directed by Senna Hegde and Charlie are set to hit the screens accordingly in 2020.

Along with production, Pushkara recently started his own distribution house. “ With so many good films around including from my own banner, distribution becomes a key factor just like the making of a film. Most of the well made films have failed due to poor promotion and marketing. It is why we started our own distribution house, to boost good films to present it to the audience,” he signs off as he heads to promote his biggest release - Avane Srimannarayana.