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KARNATAKA Stars in Khaki Serving policeman juggle stressful duties and shooting schedules to display their acting talent. By Stephen David It is almost like real life. As K. Eshwar Prasad stands at attention before the glass-topped table in the impressive office of the superintendent of police, he has a sense of deja vu. In an all too familiar scene, the celluloid "police commissioner" listens attentively as the sp gives rapid-fire instructions on ways to deal with a new criminal gang. Even the words seem the same. Hardly surprising because the "police commissioner" of reel life is an inspector in the special foreigners branch of Bangalore Police in real life. Only, shooting for the Kannada thriller Dalavai, Inspector Prasad has been elevated to the commissioner's post. The sp giving the orders is a policeman too -- Inspector B.C. Patil, of airport security at Bangalore airport and a friend of Prasad. Such all-policemen scenes may be rare in Kannada films but policemen acting as themselves in films isn't. But over the past few years, their creative instincts have found a favourable response from tinseltown. The result: the number of policemen making a beeline for film studios has jumped. "We do police duties for 12 to 14 hours a day. Acting in films gives us a break from routine. We also get an opportunity to change the way policemen are portrayed in films," says Prasad, who also released a collection of Kannada poems two months ago. Inspector Patil, 42, too does his bit -- he makes films and also acts in them. Inspector Patil's tryst with the big screen began when Kannada film director Nanjundappa saw him acting in a play. Impressed by his performance, he invited Patil to act in films and the policeman has never looked back since. On leave for the past three months, he is involved with the Rs 50 lakh Dalavai. The Police Department has of course rallied around the aspiring stars. The support and encouragement comes from no less a man than the Bangalore Police Commissioner L. Revannasiddaiah himself. "My boys are only showcasing their talent -- it could be singing, writing, dancing or even sports. I am proud of their achievements," says Revannasiddaiah, who also made his screen debut with the Kannada film Maha Edabidangi. Thanks to the commissioner's patronage, his "boys" have not had much difficulty when it comes to leave or travelling for shooting. Constable C.R. Honnaiah, 40, of the Yeshwantpura police station in Bangalore north, too juggles official duties with shooting schedules. When he is not chasing thieves, he is running to the Kanteerava film studios for his shooting shift. "I've acted in only 10 films," says Honnaiah modestly. Among his more noteworthy roles have been those of a bodyguard, a rowdy MLA, a servant. He has acted in Ellaravanthavannalla Nanna Ganda with Kannada superstar Vishnuvardhan. This interaction has led to a very cosy relationship between the police and the film industry. Small wonder that Revannasiddaiah is a regular at the mahurats or clapping events of most of the films involving his men. The filmmakers too seem happy at the proximity. "It helps to have police officers taking part in the film industry," says K.C.N. Chandrashekar, president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. "They deter the bad elements in the industry. We need the police's support when we are shooting outside," he says. As actors too these policemen -- some of them real greenhorns on the sets -- are easy to work with. Says director R. Shivamani: "They are quite disciplined and adapt themselves to the roles given to them. Sometimes of course we are scared to shout at them or even demand retakes but they are game." And there's praise too for their effort. "It must take a special talent to essay the two roles -- of an active police officer and a totally different personality on screen," says veteran film critic V.N. Subba Rao. DCP (Public Relations) M. Prakash is playing both the roles admirably. With 15 films and a dozen Kannada television serials to his credit, he is as much saluted by his juniors for being a good officer as by his fans. In the Kannada film industry, which lacks superstars of the stature of Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan, policemen like Prakash, Patil and Honnaiah are doing fairly well. They say they are into acting "for the sense of satisfaction, not money". But they are obviously not doing it for free. Being public servants, they cannot be paid directly by the filmmakers, so the money is believed to be paid in the names of their wives or family members to avoid legal hassles. "We are not earning anything directly," says Patil, whose wife Vanaja is the executive producer of most of his films, though actually he is the one who calls the shots. It's really not the money that drives these men. It's the chance to play out their fantasies, to live the lives of supercops. Their films may not be blockbusters and their roles unlikely to set Bollywood on fire, but their foray on the silver screen gives them a sense of achievement -- a sense of rising above their stressful duties. |
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