Shivu Jamkhandi talks about ‘Nasab’, based on an autobiograpy

Film writer director Shivu Jamkhandi
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Film director Shivu Jamkhandi, better known as ShiJa in the Kannada film industry, is doing the post production work on his film Nasab. Speaking from Bagalkote, as he winds up his shoot, ShiJa says, “The film is about the Banjara community that lives in North Karnataka. Nasab is based on K Kishore Kumar’s eponymous autobiography.

The book, ShiJa says is the story of a man born into the Banjara community, whose father makes a meagre income by selling local liquor (sarai). “He fights against odds to educate himself and become an officer.”

ShiJa started his career in the Kannada film industry as a lyricist and has penned songs for over 100 Kannada films in his 15-year career. he has written songs for the Kannada film Vidyarthi, with Tarun Sudhir as the hero. “It was Tarun’s debut as a leading man. I was called to write the songs for this film and I learnt on the job. Till date, the film is as special to me as a first love. “

Stills from the film
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Writing was always a passion for ShiJa, who wrote for English dailies as a freelancer. Later he dived into writing screeplays, including Nasab, which has music by Ragam (known for Dandi ).

Thanking Ragam for introducing him to Kishore’s book, ShiJa says, “It is an inspiring story. We are done with the shooting and will decide on the release date once we are done with the post production work.”

Nasab is produced by Sujata Kishore and features Keerthi Kumar K in the lead. “Sujata is Kishore’s wife and Keerthi is his son. Keerthi makes his debut as an actor with this film, portraying his father on screen.”

A huge fan of the late actor Shankar Nag, ShiJa says he entered films because of the renowned actor. Nasab also features National Award winning film and theatre actor-director B Jayashree in a pivotal role. Tabla Nani, Amruta, and Shefali Singh, are a part of the film. Mohammed Haseeb, who has worked with Ashok Mehta, is the DOP for Nasab, which was extensively shot in Bagalkote, Patadkal and its surrounding areas. Prior to Nasab, ShiJa directed Nanna Ninna Prema Kathe in 2016, with Vijay Raghavendra and Nidhi Subbaiah in the lead. Gulal.com was his second independent venture, which was released during the pandemic.

Not a fan of categorising his films, ShiJa says, “Nasab is a film, irrrespective of the subject and my approach to the story. The film has a different feel and I would say that its topic itself is unique. For me Nasab represents an era. The story is set in 1985. If the audience connect to this time period and the characters set in it, then Nasab becomes a commercially successful film.”

“Any film comes with its own set of challenges, says ShiJa. “When we started the shoot of Nasab, the elections were round the corner. We could not postpone the shoot as we had already blocked the dates of artistes. We had to go ahead with the shoot, and it would have been a herculean task, if not for the help from the people of North Karnataka.”

Cinema, ShiJa says, means connectivity. “It is a medium, where you reveal your dreams and ideas visually in an appealing manner. Though not every film is a success, filmmakers are passionate about making films. Hundreds of films are released every year. The good thing today is that we have numerous platforms and channels where we can showcase our work. Earlier it was a set path that had to be stringently followed with its own disadvantages. Not anymore. Yet, I believe one should be adept with the old and new style of working and releasing a film.”