Indian actor, producer & philanthropist Vishal Krishna gets candid while he speaks about his upcoming movies, his agenda behind starting his own production company VFF, how he deals with fame, and his vision as a philanthropist.
On speaking of his current Pan Indian project Laththi Vishal says "We still have another nine days of shoot left since I hopped on to my new project Mark Antony. Post my first schedule, I will be completing my shoot for Laththi. I have never shot for a climax sequence for such a long duration ever before for the movie Laththi. Since I got injured and went on a rejuvenation break to Kerala, there was a major shuffle with regards to my dates."
"Laththi is very special and close to my heart as I play a character of a constable which has a lot of action which has never been a part of films in all these years, says the actor on speaking of his Pan Indian film which is due for release in August this year."
I started my own production company in 2013 March. The actual meaning of VFF is vengeance film factory and officially it is "Vishal Film Factory." There was a point in my career where I wanted to personally take stock of things. I wanted to have a grip on my hard work and projects which are dear to me. I did not want my projects to fall apart due to random people making frivolous decisions. I hence started my production company so that Vishal the producer will always back Vishal the actor. There was no looking back post that reveals the actor while speaking about the real reason behind starting the production company of his own.
The actor shares, "We have already had an association with Amazon and Netflix. As there is an advancement in technology it is the same with the viewership. So a major chunk of the crowd still prefers to watch movies on the OTT especially after the pandemic. OTT is always on the cards as it reaches a wider audience worldwide. Today, we have an audience in South America for Tamil films. It is nice to give them a platform rather than them looking for our movies on a pirated site. OTT is definitely an integral part of the marketing and the sale of the film. Apart from the satellite rights and the distribution rights, it plays a major role in reaching out to the audience."
Charity is a calling. There is no expiry date to it. I see God when I see a smile on an unknown person's face. The society has given me a position and in return I wanted to do something back to the society and that is how it all started. I decided to structure it well. The charity trust is named after my mother Smt Janaki Devi. I concentrate more on educating girl children.
Speaking of his relationship with late Sri Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar, he shares, "It was very shocking for me. It took me days to digest the reality. When I heard the news initially, I could not believe it so I wanted to first confirm if it was true or if it was a rumor. Puneeth was like my elder brother. He was an inspiration not just as an actor but as a wonderful human being that he was. I have never seen someone as down to earth as him in my entire life. He never changed in spite of all the success he earned over the years. When I saw his AV at an event I understood that his contribution to society was tremendous. I knew he had done a lot but I never knew he had done it to this extent. After watching the video, it was not planned but I felt that his legacy should continue and I decided to contribute to his charity foundation by taking care of the children. I just wanted to continue his chain of good work. When I went to his memorial, there was one incident I could not handle. When Shivanna (Puneeth's elder brother) said that every time he sees me he feels like he saw Puneeth as both of us are very similar people and we have the same body language. I felt it is good to keep his name and the legacy rolling for the years to come."
On dealing with success and fame he explains, "I make sure it doesn't cross my neck. Fame teaches everything. It is a roller coaster ride. It is not as rosy as it looks and how people perceive it to be. We have a lot of hurdles that we go through before we achieve it. Being famous teaches how not to dive into the sea but slowly swim in it."
