Some Lesser Known Facts About Prashanth Neel

• Prashanth Neel is a prominent Indian director and screenwriter, who primarily works in the Kannada film industry.

• Prashanth’s father is from Neelakantapura, which gives him the last name Neel.

• According to a media house, Prashanth knew he wanted to get into films, by the age of 17. Later, he did a professional course in filmmaking.

• After finishing his bachelor’s degree in business management, he pursued an MBA, which he eventually dropped. He neither worked nor studied anything for around six-seven years.

• In an interview, he revealed his early association with movies and said,
  We watched many Hollywood films on VHS tapes and discussed cinema with friends. That was the culture I grew up in.”

• Initially, during the start of his career, he wrote a screenplay, Aa Hudugi Neene, and he wanted to cast his brother-in-law and actor, Srimurali in it.

• Later, he changed his idea and wrote an action film, Ugramm, for him instead, which was released under his own production company, Inkfinite Pictures, in 2014.

• In an interview, Prashanth said that he had no expectations from his debut movie. He said,
  

  We never thought it would go past the morning show. Nobody even knew me then. So with my first film, the journey was very important, but the destination not so much”

• To his surprise, his debut film, Ugramm, succeeded in becoming one of the highest-grossing Kannada films of 2014.

• Before writing the story of Ugramm, he had written the script of KGF. He stated that he wrote the script as a writer and not as a director. In an interview, he said,
  

  When you think like a director, you become practical and start thinking of budget constraints. Right there, one stops dreaming big”

• In an interview, he disclosed that he met Vijay Kiragandur, who is a producer of Kannada films, to narrate a script. Vijay asked him for a different script which is why Prashanth read him the script of KGF. He said that they asked Yash, the lead of KGF, for his available dates. Upon his affirmation, they finalized the project and soon began to shoot it.

• K.G.F: Chapter 1 turned out to be a blockbuster when it was released in 2018, earning a whopping Rs 250 crore.

• The distribution rights of the film were awarded to Anil Thadani (who was the distributor for Bahubali). Notably, Anil Thadani watched K.G.F: Chapter 1 a couple of times before proclaiming that he would give the film a wide release in Hindi.
  

  Prashanth celebrates with the cast and crew of KGF

• According to Prashanth, K.G.F: Chapter 1 had opened the gates to the market for them. It had also set the stage for K.G.F: Chapter 2 which was due to be released on 16 July 2021 but was delayed owing to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in India. The release date was then pushed to 14 April 2022.
  

  Prashanth Neel and Yash at KGF 2 press meet in Chennai.

• During the promotions of K.G.F: Chapter 2, Prashanth gave a sneak peek into his other upcoming projects which include ‘Salaar’ with Prabhas, ‘NTR 30’ with Jr. NTR, and Bagheera.

• Reportedly, Prashanth has a distinct courteous manner of dealing with his cast and crew. In an interview, he stated
  

  I don’t yell at them or get mad at them. Actors’ moods are very important to me. I want to see them happy on the sets”

• Expressing his parents’ concern about the uncertainties of the industry, Prashanth revealed in an interview that his mother was skeptical of his choice of career. He said,
  

  Unless you are born in a filmy family, there’s a bias against cinema as a profession. And coming from an orthodox family, my mother wasn’t keen that I take it up. So I did not even tell my family about my plan, lest they discourage me. When I decided to take the plunge, they had only one thing to say: ‘If it doesn’t work out, don’t be disappointed.’ Thankfully, it has so far.”

• Rumors had it that Prashanth’s film Salaar is the sequel to his K.G.F franchisee or the remake of Ugramm. However, he clarified in an interview stating
  

  All of the films that I make will have some shades of Ugramm. That’s my style! But Salaar is a fresh story. It’s not a remake or adaptation of Ugramm.”

• During an interview, Prashanth was questioned about his preference to direct films that portray the lead actors in a ‘larger than life’ roles with an element of violence in them, to which he responded,
  

  We don’t have a culture of using the World War or such subjects as premises for our films. So, my logic is that the stronger the villain is, the stronger the heroism that can be shown onscreen. I try to create an environment where it offers both of these. In our given scenario, I will not be able to achieve villainy to that level, nor will I be able to elevate heroism to that point. This is why I try to make my world more violent.”