Breakfast with Naveen Dwarakanath

Naveen Dwarakanath

I was meeting my old friend after a long time. By then he already had made two short films, and was working on a new project. Time flies.. I am talking about Naveen Dwarakanath, who's the creative head of Aalap Creations, which made two shortfilms Shadow and Aravina Haadi. 

We decided to meet for breakfast, and I thought why not use this opportunity to dig a little bit into what he's all about in an informal interview so that I could post it on the blog for everyone. I call this "Breakfast with Naveen Dwarakanath" to give it a formally informal interview flavor and test my own interviewing skills! I do hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed talking to the budding director!


I believe you started nurturing your creative instincts through theatre, is that right?
Naveen: Yes. right from school i had a interest towards art, but my first state award made directed by my Teacher" Vijaykumar Boratti" made me go deeper in the subject.

How long have you been in theatre? What do you like about theatre?
Naveen:Been in theater for more than 15 years. worked under P Rudrappa sir who is a writer, and currently in C R SIMHA's Vedike group.
               I like the end to end of theater making i would say. right from concept to the excicution of the play. and the involvment which each person takes to make the character strong is what i like the most.

Can you tell us about your formal theatre training?
Naveen: I would say practical experience always pays rather than some going for acting classes.. well its my take and my opinion :o) (smiles)

How did you get started with "Aalap Creations" formerly "Bright light creations"? I believe it started with "Shadow" is that right?
Naveen:Bright light was originally started by me and my other friend, but later changed it to aalap creations .(something very Indian).. and i have also got it registered. yes Shadow was the first production which we did..

Can you tell us about your first project "Shadow" ? 
Naveen: Shadow is a mix of 4 real incidents which i saw it in front of my life right from school days and till i joined the workforce..
I never forget those incident and incidently planned it to do a horror movie, but because of budget constraints changed it a bit to make it a psychological thriller :O)

What inspired you to take this plunge? 
Naveen: My strength was to communicate and my weakness was budget and so called "God father". Hence decided to earn-save and then do it myself rather than bending down all the time for approvals , permission, etc..
Short films might be viewed by very less crowd, but it has a potential to change the society..hence i am trying to communicate the people's views by art of short film rather than making it boring, shall try constantly to make it interactive...

What would people be surprised to know about you?
Naveen: I am actually a short tempered fellow at sets. but i have controlled a lot.. :O) otherwise i am a cool person..

I know that yours is a non-profit company. So are you getting the sufficient support and encouragement in the form of sponsorship?
Naveen: Well.. we are actually trying so that this sponsered money would be used for screening across the globe and educate children and parents.

You recently met the king of spoof, none other than Mr Rajni Kanth! Tell us all about it! 
Naveen: Ahhh.. well i dont want to comment on that now :o) shall confirm when things are in place..

Lets talk about your upcoming project - Maralida Belaku ! What inspired you to do this project?

Naveen Dwarakanath posing with children at a school after the Muhurta of Maralida Belaku

Naveen: I met a girl who viewed by earlier movie "Arivina Haadi" and she was in tears saying she wanted to go to school but family not allowing.. giving importance of boy child. and some issues like small girl babies thrown out in garbage made me go mad abt this menace. and thought to make a subject to educate the importance of girl child.

What are you most excited about in this project?
Naveen: Lot of likeminded people are coming forward to support for this cause and actively involving to make this happen. this is what motivated me to do more and more.The subject is like this , I must say. Touch wood- lot of love and affection from all my team and people.

Indeed! 
You have some interesting stars doing guest appearance in Maralida Belaku! 
Naveen: Yes of course..Nidhi Subbaih, Srujan Lokesh, C R SIMHA, Ravishankar have accepted the offer.

Naveen with Chetan of Aa Dinagalu and Birugali fame during the song recording of Maralida Belaku

Do you have a message for those who may be willing to sponsor this cause? 
Naveen: As I said earlier , the sponsership is used entirely for the benefit of the people and we need people support to reach for the poor and needy.

What's your message to all the young girls even in the cities, who due to financial conditions drop out of school?
Naveen: Be positive, never lose heart, think people like Prathibha patilji, Kiran Bedi and others who struggled themselves to be successful.. no matter what. Patience always pays.

We look forward to your upcoming movie! Wish you all the best ! 
Naveen: Thank you!