Sharat Khadri to film seamy side of Sandalwood

While Bollywood has had its share of true-to-life movies showcasing the underbelly of the film industry, a debutant director Sharat Khadri is all set to showcase the seamy side of Sandalwood.
Titled 'Sandalwood Sa Ri Ga Ma', the movie is said to be autobiographical and will detail the director’s experiences in the film industry.
Sharat, who quit a corporate job a couple of years ago, got into the industry to follow his passion of making movies.But his debut directorial, 'Mareyalare', had to be shelved midway in August 2010, following differences with the film's hero Chetan, when the actor allegedly wanted to take over the script and change the film’s heroine.
In 2010, Chetan had told the media that since Sharat had falsified the reasons as to why Mareyalare had to be shelved and why he was ousted from the project, the Directors’ Association had banned the director from coming back into the industry.
“That’s not true. If it were true, how would I be back to make another movie?” asks Sharat, adding that 'Sandalwood Sa Ri Ga Ma' storyline is about a corporate guy who leaves his high-paying job and sets out to make a movie called Mareyalare, only to shelve the project following tantrums thrown by the film’s hero.
“The character later comes out of the financial mess, gathers a strong team and returns to make a new film,” adds the director.
Sharat reveals that the artists who were cast in Mareyalare, excluding Chetan, will be roped in for his new film. “Sindhu Loknath, who was slated to essay the heroine in Mareyalare will be in my new film. But no where in the film will I allude to any particular hero,” says Sharat.
The director adds that he will also portray the attitude of various heroes — how their wives decide the script and costumes, the tantrums thrown by heroines and their mothers, besides showcasing the plight of unit hands and technicians.
Going by the content, the film might rake up a controversy. “The content of my movie is not a figment of my imagination. This is what happened. I am ready to face anything that comes my way,” asserts Sharat.
Allegations false: Chetan
September 5, 2010, the Karnataka film industry’s Directors’ Association & Writers’ Association, after thorough research, concluded that Sharat Khadri was making false behavioural accusations against me. The director was then censured by the Directors’ Association & Writers’ Association and was warned that he should not sensationalize the issue.
The differences between Sharat and I did not have anything to do with my behaviour on the set or the selection of the heroine. Instead, they dealt with creative differences, specifically script issues. I wrote the screenplay and dialogues free of cost and with lots of affection for the film Mareyalare, a title that I had coined.
After four days of shooting, Sharat wanted to act in the film, so he demanded I write-in a new character into the script for him to play. I said it would be detrimental to the film if a new character was inserted suddenly, after shooting work had already started. So, Sharat had the project stopped and brought false allegations against me.
As told to Prathibha Joy