Chandrajith Belliappa strongly believes in the magic of cinema. He saw it unfold when his directorial debut, Ibbani Tabbida Ileyali, survived a tough box office battle. After a quiet start, with minimal buzz in the first couple of days, the film stared at an early exit from the theatres. But the relationship drama, which was released on September 5, found its footing slowly thanks to strong word of mouth.
In 2015, Chandrajith experienced a similar change of fortune. Working as a software engineer, he sent a link of a story published on his blog to actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty. The story ‘Dew drops, Sunshine and a Blade of Grass’ convinced Rakshit to rope Chandrajith into his writing team.
Ibbani Tabbida Ileyali, produced by Rakshit’s Paramvah Studios, is Chandrajith’s cinematic version of that story. Starring newcomers Vihan Gowda, Ankita Amar, and Mayuri Nataraja, the movie shows the vulnerabilities of relationships and people’s inability to let go of their past. Released on the Ganesh Chaturthi weekend, the film struggled for screens against a mighty movie like The Greatest of All Time/Goat, starring Vijay.
“We were very clear that we would start with fewer screens; It is all about demand and supply. If I plan to go with 200 shows on the first day, will my film attract so many people in the opening week? I don’t think so. Hence we went with just 40 screens. But thanks to the response from the first set of audience, it got a strong word of mouth, and the show count increased. In those limited screens, the film reached cinephiles who wrote about it on social media,” explains Chandrajith.
Chandrajith Belliappa. | Photo Credit: Paramvah Studios/Facebook
The story, which runs in multiple timelines, has a college episode. In those portions, cinematographer Srivathsan Selvarajan fills the frames with vibrant colours.
“I wanted the episode to look like a 90s Bollywood movie. When you think of your college life, it won’t be completely realistic in your memory. It will have some texture of the films you have seen. For instance, in Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hain, colours are used to celebrate college life. I intentionally avoided a niche treatment to those scenes,” says Chandrajith.
Urban love stories are few and far in the Kannada film industry, making Ibbani Tabbida Ileyali a significant addition to the genre which Chandrajith grew up watching.
“I loved Mani Ratnam’s Alaipayuthey, and I am a big fan of Vaaranam Aayiram and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. In Kannada, I love Yogaraj Bhat’s romantic dramas like Mungaru Male and Paramathma. The style of conversation between couples was fresh in those movies, and it influenced me a lot,” he offers.
Chandrajith’s film has a strong presence of voice-over. A poet himself, he uses poetry as a narrative tool throughout the film. “I was blown away by Forrest Gump and the protagonist’s voice-overs worked brilliantly in that movie. I feel that kind of narration has a strong impact on the viewers. Apart from Forrest Gump, Korean films The Classic and Daisy have shaped my cinema grammar,” he says.
An avid reader in his childhood, O Henry’s The Last Leaf, a collection of short stories, inspired Chandrajith to write stories. The Ranveer Singh-Sonakshi Sinha starrer Lootera (2013) draws inspiration from The Last Leaf, and Chandrajith is a huge fan of the Vikramaditya Motwane movie.
Vihan Gowda and Mayuri Nataraja in the film. | Photo Credit: Paramvah Srudios/YouTube
“I watch Lootera once every year,” he says with excitement. “It’s very close to my heart. The soundscape of Ibbani and the way nature is depicted in the film is a hat tip to Lootera.”
A terminal illness is an often-used conflict in films. Chandrajith persisted with it as it struck him organically during the movie’s scripting. “Of course, there have been movies such as Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Walk to Remember, and The Notebook. However, the idea stemmed naturally in my head, and I didn’t want to dismiss it just because people might call it a done-to-death trope. A senior actor from the film industry criticised the film, saying it’s become a trend to treat cancer lightly in movies. However, a cancer survivor, who is also a cancer warrior, wrote a beautiful post about my movie on social media. I am happy looking at the positive side of it all,” he explains.
The family audiences have been showering praises on the film, which is structured as chapters. “I intended to provide people the feel of reading a bedtime story. I think I have managed to do so. I wanted to create a visceral experience for the viewers,” he signs off.
Published - September 25, 2024 05:52 pm IST
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