New Delhi: Natesh Hegde’s second feature Tiger’s Pond or Vagachipani, is going to be the first Kannada-language film to screen at the Berlin Film Festival on 15 February. It is based on two short stories by Amaresh Nugadoni.
The movie is backed by Anurag Kashyap, who was impressed by Hegde’s film Pedro (2021) and met him at the Busan Film Festival at its screening in 2021. “The storytelling and filmmaking was so effortless that I became a fan,” said Kashyap.
The dark crime drama is set in the village of Vaghachipani and it follows a ruthless businessman’s attempt to manipulate local elections, only to face unexpected resistance from an outcast villager. At the heart of the movie lies Pathi (Sumitra), a mute domestic worker and through her character, Hegde examines power, faith, and caste dynamics in the village.
“The character of Pathi is not just the narrative centre but in totality of the film, she is the very pure human figure without any greed. In this manipulative world, she doesn’t know what is happening around her. So with that, the character gains the power of something very primitive, to such a great extent to basic elements like water, wind or fire. She is that powerful,” said Hegde.
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Scene, setting and acclaim
The film has been shot by cinematographer Vikas Urs and edited by Paresh Kamdar, who also forms Hegde’s go-to team. “We work in a collaborative way, and also help each other out in the making of the film. The roles are not strictly defined,” said Hegde. The music was composed by Mexican musician Leonardo Heiblum.
Hegde had been involved in the casting of all the actors in the film, including Dileesh Pothan, who speaks broken Kannada in the film. “Dileesh’s character Malabari is an immigrant from Kerala, he runs a garage and a small gambling den all with the support of Prabhu, the village politician. He is always trying to prove that he belongs to the place. Even when he is not talking and doing nothing he feels like a misfit. I wanted that vulnerability to that character with the big size of Dileesh Pothan,” said Hegde.
The director cast non-professional actors too, along with seasoned ones, creating a compelling ensemble. Sumitra, who plays Pathi, is from Hegde’s village and has not acted before. “Non-actors do not go for character study or preparation of a certain kind. That also adds to the film’s experience, because they play the characters in a very different way than professional actors,” said Hegde.
Vagachipani was shot in Hegde’s village. “Vagachipani is a village next to mine. There’s a pond where people believe tigers used to come to drink water. That was the inspiration for the name,” he said.
Pedro too depended heavily on the setting and was shot in rain-soaked natural forests and cultivated farmlands in the Western Ghats. The human-animal and human-nature conflicts are integral parts of the movie. Pedro, Hegde’s debut film, was produced by actor-filmmaker Rishab Shetty and won the Best Director award at Pingyao and Best Film award at the Nantes Three Continents Festival, besides being screened at BFI London Film Festival, Golden House and IndieLisbona.
Shetty was unable to be part of Tiger’s Pond due to his own film Kantara, and Kashyap stepped in. The film has also managed to secure international sales representation from French company Loco Films.
“I have been a fan of South Indian movies for a long time and It’s not really about any particular language but more about the honesty and the passion the regional filmmakers are showing. And that inspires me the most. They tell the stories they believe in and find a way to make them. Somehow I find that quality missing in the Bombay films. I get inspired by so many filmmaker’s films down south including Natesh for this reason,” said Kashyap.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)