BOMBAY TIMES (November 16, 2014)

DNA (May 23, 2014)

Manjunath, a biopic brings to life the story of Manjunath Shanmugham who was killed while battling the fuel mafia in Uttar Pradesh in 2005. Manjunath’s brother, Raghavendran Shanmugham has written an open letter voicing out his parent’s reaction after seeing the film. this is what he says...

To whomsoever it may concern
Nine years — and it’s still shocking to remember that day when we got the news that my brother was killed. My brother was everything to my family. I remember his constant advice to me whenever I ran into trouble, “Don’t worry, I am there with you.” Today, I am known as Manjunath’s brother. Not just Raghavendran. He was killed revealing a scam that affected the poorest.

My parents continue to cope with his absence and the pain each day. He was sure to have foreseen the suffering of our parents. Why did Manjunath risk his future, his life? In spite of the fact that, even today the scam still continues, what has changed? People like Manju anna die every day, fighting for the truth, fighting for everyone. Why do they fight? Do we really care? He chose public service over his own family and his life. But six bullets were pumped into his body and 9 years later he is forgotten. Like the many others who have died.

Then Mr Sandeep Varma decided to bring my brother alive again on the big screen with limited budget and whatever best he could do, to tell his story. As an inspiration. We saw Manjunath come alive in front of our eyes last weekend in the theatre near you. A few people had come forward to honour his memory. Why? Was he useless? Did what he do not matter to anyone? Would you react the same way if your loved one is brutally killed for doing his duty?

It’s not a movie with an item song or love story or the one which audience normally expect. It’s poignant, isn’t it... an ordinary man fighting against corruption and getting brutally killed. I only wish and hope that more people should know of his real story, what he did, why, what he stood for, and get inspired by him. Let’s all start dreaming about a corruption free country. Don’t we have the right to at least start dreaming and thinking in that direction?

Last but not the least — Kya Manjunath “IDIOT THA SAALA”?

Regards,
Manjunath's brother S.Raghavendran

The other three releases had very low collections with all three not managing to cross 50 lakh nett for the weekend. The collections of YEH HAI BAKRAPUR were better than MANJUNATH and KHWAABB.

The other three releases had very low collections with all three less than 25 lakhs nett. The order of the three was YEH HAI BAKRAPUR, then MANJUNATH and finally KHWAABB which was the lowest collecting of all the new releases..

Manjunath director Sandeep Varma talks about his film that is based on a real-life incident
Nilesh Rao (MID-DAY; May 9, 2014)

Tell us about the film, Manjunath.
The film is based on a real story; it is about S Manjunath, who was killed for taking a stand against the oil mafia in Lakhimpur Kheri. The place is part of the Indian hinterland where illegal gun shops have mushroomed and murders have become commonplace. No one seemed to take up his case, since Manjunath’s family was poor. So a stranger came forward to fight for him and his family; he even won the case. To me, this story was an inspiration. I wanted to tell everyone that Manjunath is the real hero. Hence, I made this film.

How did you cast for the film?
My casting was performance oriented. I wanted to focus on the character of Manjunath. I never wanted to cast established actors. After auditioning around 100 people, I found the ideal Manjunath when I was in Bangalore. His name is Satish Sarthi and he is from Mumbai. I conducted a four months’ acting workshop with him and we were then ready to shoot.

What challenges did you face during the making of the film?
Getting all the facts right wasn’t easy, so I did intensive research for two and half years. No one can point fingers at the story’s authenticity. I also faced some problems with funding; initially, I had to borrow money from friends and family. Later on, Viacom18’s support saw me through.

What is the USP of the film?
Other than the story, the film’s USP is its music. Three members of the Delhi-based rock band Parikrama — Sonam Sherpa, Nitin Malik and Subir Malik — have given the music of the film, which has been widely appreciated. The songs have been sung by KK, Shankar Mahadevan and Papon.

DISASTROUS FRIDAY AS 6 FILMS UP FOR RELEASE!

Believe it or not, tomorrow as many as 6 Hindi films are up for release. It’ll be disastrous as these half a dozen films would jostle for space in theatres and also for audience attention. What’s more, none of these films don’t seem exciting enough or have created sufficient buzz. My views:

HAWAA HAWAAI: It is directed by Amole Gupte and like his previous film Stanley Ka Dabba, it also stars his son Partho in leading role. Saqib Saleem plays his coach in this film that is supposedly the first movie ever to be based on skating. Trailer has been impressive but as it’s not a typical entertainer of sorts, the buzz hasn’t been huge. Also, due to low costs, the marketing has been low-key. There’s no chance that it’ll take a bumper opening. But if response is very positive, the film can significantly pick up and turn out to be the surprise of the season.

MASTRAM: An erotic drama, it attempts to depict the life of the anonymous writer who wrote sex stories in 80s and 90s that sold like hot cakes. The trailer is hilarious and very sizzling. But for obvious reasons, the makers have not been able to show it on television. However, what’s surprising is that they haven’t even promoted ‘Achko Machko’ song that’s sung by the very popular Yo Yo Honey Singh. Hence, even though the material is attention-grabbing, the faulty promotion has prevented it from making huge impact. And this can dent it’s collections as well. Yet, it can score and grow due to its adult content.

YEH HAI BAKRAPUR: This is a small-budget satire that has wonderfully caught viewers’ attention due to two aspects – one, because of the goat and it’s hilarious and stylish depiction in the posters and two, because of the manner in which the makers have used Shah Rukh Khan’s name to sell the film (the goat is named Shah Rukh). However, these are marketing gimmicks and although it has helped the film to stay in news, it won’t really help attract viewers to theatres. Also, there’s too much competition in the week for the film to excel.

KOYELAANCHAL: Starring Suniel Shetty and Vinod Khanna, Koyelaanchal shows how politics and mafia have ruined the lives of people living coal mine areas. Surprisingly, the manner in which the coal areas are shot and presented is much better than in Gangs Of Wasseypur and Gunday. Also, from the promos, the film looks like a no-nonsense sensible flick with sufficient doses of entertainment. Sadly, the buzz is negligible. Also, Suniel Shetty doesn’t have the same pull anymore, sadly. The film can work slightly, only in mass belts.

MANJUNATH: The theatrical trailer of this film has been really hard-hitting. It’s also praiseworthy to see the actor playing Manjunath, who very well resembles the real person on whose life the film is based. This looks like an honest and sincere effort and needs time and space to grow. Sadly, Manjunath is going to suffer very badly in this flood of releases. But somewhere, the makers too are to be blamed for designing such a not-so-impressive marketing for the film.

KHWAABB: The film that has been least promoted of all has been Khawaabb. It’s shot well, despite being digitally picturised and having a low-budget feel. But sadly, it’s going to sink without a trace. CHECK THE TRAILER HERE

WHICH FILM WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE OUT OF THESE FILMS AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!