Atul Kulkarni's Kannada connection

After Bhoomi Geetha, Aa Dinagalu, Yaksha and AK 56, Atul Kulkarni is back with another Kannada film.

What brings you back to Bangalore?
I am here to shoot for Edegarike. Kannada films are my way of reconnecting with Karnataka which is close to my heart. My family lived in Belgaum and my father even studied Kannada. I want to keep the association going.

How is Edegarike shooting coming along?
I am playing Agni Shridhar, the same character I essayed in Aa Dinagalu. However, Sridhar in this film will be going through a different emotion. It is difficult to play an existing person. But Sridhar’s open-mindedness and his acceptance of my intrepretation of his personality have made things easy for me. What’s good is that he is able to differentiate between cinema and reality. Furthermore my director Sumana Kittur has etched out the character well. I will be dubbing for this role myself.

Will your upcoming Marathi film also see you play a distinctive role?
I play roles that frighten me as an actor. My upcoming Marathi flick is the love story of two divorcees. My act in my previous release, Natrang, was also challenging. It was not only a top box office grosser but also well received by non-Marathi audience. In fact Marathi cinema as a whole is seeing a revival. Young directors are bringing with them innovative ideas. We are next working at understanding budgeting and distribution systems. Coming back to the topic, Chaalis Chauraasi is the other film that allowed me to experiment. My English film Singularity in which I play a historic character will also see me in a different avatar.

How do you think Bollywood is faring?
India has a cross section of audience whose cultural levels are varied. So where there are takers for Dabangg, there are also audience for A Wednesday and Peepli Live. It’s good to see films like Rockstar and The Dirty Picture making an impact. They are carving a new path and culturing the tastes of audience. Also, with the spending powers of people increasing, films have more audience today. And more the audience more satisfied do we feel. In a nutshell, Hindi cinema is in a good phase.

Who are the actors you admire?
Given a chance, I would wish to act along side Aamir Khan again. Ten minutes into a conversation and he would have taught you so many things unknowingly. It’s a great pleasure to see my National School of Drama teacher Naseeruddin Shah on the sets too. I also admire Amitabhji for his temperament. It is not a joke, to be able to carry superstardom for so many years. Vidya Balan dared to look ‘ugly’ and kudos to her also for that. She has not only been making the right choices but also been giving depth and maturity to each of her roles.

We hear in your free time you involve yourself in the activities of your NGO, Quest…
Quest’s focus area is Sonaale, Maharashtra. We mainly work at strengthening the skills of teachers. Education is a tool that helps in bringing about change and we want to facilitate that. Why wait for politicians to do everything right?