Director of ’23’, Manue Anuram, speaking to NewsKarnataka.com said that the idea of the short film came from his real life experience. Manue was confused as to what to do in his life. He is currently working in an IT company, Bengaluru as a Team Lead. He is also passionate about films. However, he had to balance both in his life. Taking inspiration from own life, he wrote the screenplay and this is how ’23-Ippathmuru’ was born.

The film was initially screened at K H Kala Souda, Banashankari in front of celebrities like Dhananjaya and M G Srinivas, who gave thumbs up for the film. The film also won first prize in film making competition in ‘Allura’ fest, which was conducted by Commerce Department of St Jospeh’s College. It was later uploaded on YouTube, wherein the film got 5000 views within three days, which is a very good number for a Kannada short film.

The film was made by Manue in a very stringent budget. Manue took help of his friends as he wanted to shoot the film without any problems. The film was shot in weekends and took almost 25 days. Harish Rajendra and Balaji Prasad assisted Manue in the film. The lead role of the film, which is played by Harshith is into business. The other actors Praveen and Arjun are working in MNCs. Thanuja, who is the female lead in the short film is the only known face, as she is the lead in a popular Telugu soap. Manue is the script-screenplay-dialogue writer, editor, cinematographer and director of the short film.

Speaking about himself, Manue says, “I was born and brought up in Arisikere, later shifted to Bengaluru along with my family. I did my PU and Degree in commerce in Seshadripuram College. Putanna Kannagal and Shankar Nag were my role models. I always wanted to be a director. I did not have money to watch films during my college days, so there was no way I could shoot a film. I was placed in an IT company through campus recruitment. I also worked as a freelancer candid wedding photographer and cinematographer, which helped me to gain experience in technical aspects of filmmaking. It was also fun learning things on my own. Making short film was the next step. I made a short film on creating awareness about voting titled ‘Aayke’, which got good response. After ‘Aayke’, I wanted to do something unique. I thought that my own confusion with job, passion and commitments can give me a short story. This is how ’23’ was created.”

Manue wants to be a part of the transition which the Kannada film industry is going through. His next aim is to enter Sandalwood. He is currently writing a script for a feature film and wants to direct many Kannada films.

Let’s hope many youngsters like Manue come in Sandalwood. Short film makers know the pulse of the audience and learn things on their own. Popular directors like Rakshit Shetty and Pawan Kumar entered Sandalwood after directing short films. It’s our responsibility to encourage good films.

Here is the link of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PqUSP3_TfU
Trailer Link of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEXMFPBNn44