Madhusudhan Havaldar is overjoyed by the full house his film on a renowned Haridasa, Sri Prasanna Venkata Dasaru, is drawing in its fifth week. “It is rewarding that the film is doing so well despite big releases such as Barbie, Oppenheimer and the latest Mission: Impossible movie.”
The cast, comprising newcomers, were chosen for their commitment, Madhusudhan says. “Sharat Joshi, Prabhanjan Deshpande and Trivikrama Joshi have done an excellent job. Vijaya Krishna’s music stays with you for days on end as he has retained the traditional melody of the Dasa Sahitya.”
Sri Prasanna Venkata Dasaru was shot in picturesque locales including Gangavati, Anegundi, Kanakagiri, Raichuru, Hospete, Huligi, Koppala and Bagalakote, where the dasas lived. Though wellwishers were apprehensive about takers for the film, Madhusudhan says he was confident. “My earlier film Sri Jagannatha Daasaru, on the 18th century mystic and scholar, completed more than a 100 shows in India and abroad in 2021.”
Although Dasa Sahitya in Kannada literature belongs to the Bhakti movement of the medieval period, between the 14th and 18th century, haridasas or servants of god, made Vedic and Puranic teachings accessible to the common man by singing them in simple Kannada.
A still from Sri Prasanna Venkata Dasaru | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
With a 10-year project to cover Dasa Sahitya and Vachana Sahitya, Madhusudhan hopes to make the practical messages in these texts available to all. “This devotional movement paved the way for parallel bhakti movements in other parts of the country.”
A commercial film director for 25 years, Madhusudhan turned to devotional subjects thanks to his mother, Ambujabai. “She was a Harikathe specialist. I accompanied her to her performances, and the devout atmosphere made a deep impression on me.”
After his mother’s passing, Madhusudhan remembered her urging him to make films on devotional subjects. “I launched the banner, Matambuja Movies in her memory, debuting with Sri Jagannatha Daasaru. Madhusudhan’s father, Rama Rao Havaldar, who retired as a tahsildar from the Revenue Department, has a strong interest in music and drama.
Madhusudhan was born and brought up in Hospete in Karnataka. Exposed to art, music and literature from a young age, Madhusudhan was singing in orchestras and turned playwright after completing his PUC. “Academics wasn’t my priority and no amount of pressure from my parents could make me change my mind.”
Soon after his arrival in Bengaluru in 1996, Madhusudhan’s elder brother introduced him to filmmaker TN Sitaraman. “I worked on several television serials with him and it proved to be a turning point for my life and career.”
A still from Sri Prasanna Venkata Dasaru | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Before long, Madhusudhan was working on documentaries and serials for Doordarshan. Moving to films was the next step, and the success of Telugu film Vamsham, which won him 13 awards, including the Sangam Academy Award, only fortified his commitment. “I was happy to have introduced singers such as Hemachandra and Karunya to Telugu cinema.”
Though more films in Telugu and Kannada followed, some successful and others not so much, Madhusudhan craved something more and that is when he decided to make the haridasaseries.
While there have been successful films on Purandaradasa and Kanakadasa in the past, there have not been any with the topic in the last few decades. Madhusudhan was confident that people interested in music, literature and philosophy would be interested in a film about haridasas. Madhusudhan was not looking for commercial success; he says he only wanted to document the rich reservoir of data available on the haridasas.
According to Madhusudhan, Sri Jagannatha Daasaru defied every obstacle to make it big, both abroad and at home. “It was ironic that when I did not expect anything, everything was given to me.”
Madhusudan Halvaldar with Prabhanjan Deshpande | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
