Kannada Director Tarun Sudhir Reflects On Theatrical Roots, Box Office Hits

Kannada cinema filmmaker Tarun Sudhir is considered an accomplished name in the film industry. The director is known for hits like Kaatera, Roberrt and Chowka, cementing himself as one of the best in the industry. Here are some unknown facts about the director, as told by the man himself.

As per the reports, director Tharun Sudhir started by working on his parents, Sudhir and Malathi’s, drama company. They promoted the play’s title as well as its timing where they placed their tent. When its promotional engagements ended, Tharun used to sit at the ticket counter. He liked to see how much money they had made daily, wondering who had all this money to spend.

Through his exposure to theatres at such a young age, Tharun Sudhir learned about the influence of the public on entertainment. He found out that people showed similar interest in cinema as well as theatre. It helped immensely helped the filmmaker in understanding what the masses liked and preferred.

The director shared his story on the television show Mahanati on Saturday’s episode. His mother, Malathi Sudhir made a special appearance on the show reminiscing the old days. According to her, her son has worked very hard, coming out victorious in difficult circumstances and making a name for himself.

Tharun Sudhir made his directorial debut with the film Chowka, which was released in 2017. The cast included names like Vijay Raghavendra, Prem, Diganth, Prajwal Devaraj, Chikkanna, Aindrita Ray, Priyamani, Bhavana and Deepa Sannidhi. It is produced by Dwarakish and Yogish Dwarakish Bungale under the banners of Dwarakish Chitra and United Spirits.

His last directorial release was Kaatera, starring Darshan in the titular role. The rest of the cast of the film includes Aradhana Ram, Jagapathi Babu, Kumar Govind, Vinod Kumar Alwa, Danish Akhtar Saifi and Shruti. It is produced by Rockline Venkatesh under the banner of Rockline Entertainments. V Harikrishna gave the music in the film, which was released on December 29, 2023. The film collected more than Rs 60 crore at the box office.