One needs both guts and a bit of quirkiness to tell experimental stories: Upendra

The recently released teaser of Kannada actor-director Upendra’s upcoming film UI that depicts a dystopian world in the year 2040 has shocked his audience. Quite like his earlier directorials, that were way ahead of their time, glimpses of UI indicate a similar trend. Attempting to showcase an experimental story that depicts an imaginary world created out of thoughts, possibilities and probabilities requires a certain amount of guts by the director and his team. To this, Upendra says, “The audience should tell us what they think. But I guess telling a story like this requires everything from guts to quirkiness to even some amount of madness.”
Upendra hints at the little clues that one should look out for in the teaser - or what he calls “warner”. “None of us are ready for a world like that. Today’s realities hint at a darker tomorrow. If you think ahead, you will be able to picture how that could play out in the future,” he says.

However, Upendra adds, “I cannot predict the future, of course. I am not an astrologer. What I have presented is all fiction. The teaser is just like a warning, it is a small part of the film. It also showcases a lot of hidden clues into what the entire film will entail. There are so many twists and turns in the film. The screenplay is way too different from what you have seen so far.” While the film gears up for release this December, it is also competing with some of the other big-ticket releases from South cinema. “We had announced our release date much earlier, but I guess the other filmmakers also are looking at cashing in on the holiday season. But there is no need for any of us to worry about bringing people to the theatres, because each of the films coming up in December are very unlike the other. It’s more the merrier for now,” says Upendra.