“Maybe  I Should Make Durga Again,”  Satya Star J  D Chakravarthy

“Maybe  I Should Make Durga  Again,”  Satya Star J  D Chakravarthy On  His Directorial Which  Turned  23  On March 23

What prompted  you to direct Durga way back  in 2002 ?

Durga, well, you know, sometimes some films don’t work, not because they’re bad, but because of your earlier films’ impact. But the whole idea of making this film is only because of  Satya. When you ask me about Durga, that is the first thing that  comes into my mind. You know, that’s what has exactly happened with Durga. As this was immediately after Satya.

Did  you   enjoy turning  director so  early in  your career?

 well, the good thing was, it was  a tremendous high. And the bad was also that it has tremendous high. At that point in time, for me, you know, the South version worked.So, I  decided to make it in Hindi. The moment I shared Durga’s idea with Mahesh Bhatt Saab, he was so very excited and he wanted to produce the film.

Mahesh Bhatt wanted to  produce Durga?

He wanted  to be partners along with me, you know, producing the film.Well, I seriously don’t remember why that association never worked out. I seriously don’t remember why it  fizzled out.

I think it was  ahead  of its times?

 I so wish Durga   happened in these present times,  as that is the flavour of films which is working in Hindi, especially coming from the South.

It  got a lot of  praise from  some quarters?

 Satya was talked about as a cult film. So, people have taken all the characters  at face value and started believing them as almost as true real characters. And I remember Ramuji saying, after seeing Durga, he said, I love Durga with that typical South Indian high, you know, film’s high moments  were really HIGH. But  Ramu had his  misgivings.

And they were?

Ramu  told me  the problem is people have seen you as an actor in Satya as a very intelligent, intellectual Satya. And Ramuji added saying, if Durga had come before Satya, I don’t think then Satya would have worked. And he said, I feel the same about Durga as it is coming after Satya. Ramu  predicted  Durga  will have the same impact. And he said, if Satya was another commercial flick, like, you know, regular hit films, what, how we get to see, then Durga would have been  added to your success list.

So Satya  was  an impediment to Durga’s success?

Durga not working is because of Satya. But Durga happening was also because of Satya. So, this is what I remember about Durga. Maybe I think, I think I should make Durga again since we can make Satya again.