Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2 director Pavan Bhat: I realized the importance of writing with this film

Hindustan Times

20-06-2025

Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2, the latest Kannada courtroom drama, is now out on OTT after a fairly successful theatrical run. Produced by leading man Krishna Ajai Rao, who was hitherto widely known for his romantic hero image, the film was only the second directorial of Pavan Bhat, who'd made Cutting Shop earlier. During the pre-release promotions, Pavan was conspicuously absent, letting Ajai take the lead. 'I'm not a very known face, so even though I am the writer and director of the film, it made better sense to speak after the film speaks for itself. Then there's more value to what I have to say,' says Pavan, now that the film is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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For the most part, Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2 is grounded in its depiction of legal procedures, but does have its share of cinematic drama and heroism, with the latter bit likely to divide audiences. Pavan's target audience, though, seems to have loved it, especially the melodrama in the climax. 'As a writer and filmmaker, my aim is not to cater to a 'target audience'; I want everyone to enjoy my work, irrespective of their socio-economic standing, city they live in, etc. But then, no film is perfect and there's always scope for improvement,' he says.
The melodrama in the climax, is, presumably, for cinematic effect, but if Pavan had refrained from doing that and stuck to a more realistic approach, would the impact have been different? 'Honestly, that's a difficult question to answer. If I'd shot two versions and then chosen only one, I'd have clarity about why I stuck with this version. But now that I have shot and released only one version, in which Ajai's character has a dramatic monologue (and looks like he's holding a sudarshana chakra) that may not seem fit for a courtroom; going by the response to the film, there are people saying it gave them goosebumps,' says the filmmaker.
Yuddhakaanda Chapter 2 being his maiden attempt at a courtroom drama, what have been Pavan's learning's from the feedback he's got? 'It was a great learning. I realized how important writing is. In this script, nothing was changed once we went on floors. On the set, we just executed what was on paper. The kind of writing and the result it gave because of the honesty that the team had towards the written word was very good,' says Pavan.
The director, who worked with his brother on his debut film, adds that Yuddhakaanda was also about how to work with seasoned artistes. 'I had stalwarts like Prakash Belawadi and TS Nagabharana on set and seeing how they surrender to a director, especially, one as new as me, was unbelievable," he says.