Sidlingu 2 offers hope, life lessons, say Yogi & Sonu Gowda

Twelve years since its release, Vijaya Prasad and Yogi’s film, Sidlingu, has achieved cult status among the audience. The duo is ready with the sequel, Sidlingu 2 and joining them this time is Sonu Gowda, as the female lead. “This time around, Sidlingu has matured a lot; there are no signature double entendres, but rather delivers hope to the hopeless and life lessons, while also providing absolute entertainment” share Yogi and Sonu. During a chat with Bangalore Times, the two offer insights about their characters, challenges faced by actors during uncertain times, unavoidable comparisons with the first film, the importance of choosing the right scripts over numbers, and more.

‘Sidlingu 2 is a film that offers hope to its viewers’
Yogi: Sidlingu as a character was very close to me, personally, and I have never come out of it. Just like us, 12 years later, Sidlingu has also matured in life. Back then, he was a boy who spoke his mind. In the first film, Sidlingu loses everything in the end. This is why Siddlingu 2 offers hope. He has learned how to handle situations better.
Sonu: My character, Nivedita, is not an accessory but a significant part of the beautiful life Sidlingu is rebuilding. A lot of people think life ends when things don’t go their way, but Sidlingu tells you that life only gets better, as time heals everything.

‘For an actor, struggling for roles is inevitable’
Yogi:Until you achieve fame and success as an actor, you have to struggle. After that, it is a different ball game. I believe that being part of memorable characters is better than doing multiple films at a time. Actors may think people will forget them if they don’t do films. But that is not true at all! People will forget you if you deliver bad films back to back.

Sonu: Waiting for good roles is a struggle, no doubt. But in that waiting period, make sure you do things that ultimately aid your craft. During uncertain times, instead of sitting idle, I took up work that came my way. Sitting at home and watching films won’t help you in the acting journey. Travelling helped me reconnect with the craft. Don’t make films your your only source of income, at least initially. Rather, have multiple avenues to make money.
‘A director should be clear on what they expect from an actor; the roles you get need some scope to act’
Yogi: Vijaya Prasad is a very philosophical writer and director who can convey a myriad of emotions in just a few words. He’s also particular about how his actors bring out characters on screen. He wants the characters to have their quirks.
Sonu: When picking a script, I make sure that there is a scope for acting, and the rest never mattered to me. Irrespective of the length of the role, I have been able to grab attention. I was able to do it in Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu and I Love You. Vijaya Prasad sir called me after watching Kiragoorina and told me we should collaborate.

Promotions play a huge role in taking films to the audience: Yogi
As a process, filmmaking has undergone a sea of change. Today, making a film is easy. But taking it to people is very difficult. If a film is made for `10 Cr, at least half of that has to go for publicity. A lot of people are involved in taking the film to the audience. The hero and heroine may be the face of the film, but the entire chain of people at the backend has to work in tandem for the film to reach the audience.
The movie industry is dominated by males: Sonu Gowda
It’s time to come to terms with the fact that this industry is male-dominated. Now that I’ve accepted it, I’ve started to believe that I should do what my gut says, for me, it’s not about my screen presence, but the impact of the character on the audience. Accepting what is running in the market, how the industry is going, permutations and combinations of numbers matter a lot for any actor. At the end of the day, it is the number and hits and flops that matter.

Watch the full interview on Bangalore Times YouTube channel