X&Y director Satya Prakash: Today, you don't even have an audience to say if your film is good or bad

Hindustan Times

24-06-2025

As a director, producer and now actor too, D Satya Prakash is worried about the slump that the Kannada film industry is facing, what with audiences barely ever making theatre visits. Unlike earlier, when people would watch a film and then pass their judgement, today, the big issue that filmmakers face is that they don't have anyone to say if a film is good or bad. 'When you start writing a story, the excitement and energy that you have at the start in the anticipation of entertaining audiences, dwindles by the time you get to the release window and you start wondering why you took the effort and for who,' says Satya, who is bringing his film X&Y to theatres on June 26. Satya Prakash and Atharva in X&Y
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In a promotional interview for the film, Satya compares a film release to a housewarming. 'Let's say someone has made a single-bedroom house or just a hall and kitchen; he'd still call people in the neighborhood to come and see the fruit of his effort. He is not expecting anyone to say that he's made a palace. It's about the joy and satisfaction one gets from just showing the house to people. What's happening in the Kannada film industry is that no one sets out to make a bad film; everyone starts with the intention of doing a good movie. The problem is that you don't have anyone to tell you if it is good or bad,' he says.
Satya adds that earlier, based on audience feedback, a filmmaker would have clarity about whether or not it worked for them and if it didn't, he knew what to correct. 'If there is no impression about your film without an audience, how do you figure out what to do in your next film? The immediate way out is for people in the industry to gather their friends and family and head to the nearest theatre, watch the film and interact with other audiences. The reason I'm not a fan of premieres is for this reason. At these special shows, you meet the same set of people and say the same things about every film, so much so that audiences do not trust that 'report' anymore,' he says.
Satya's film X&Y, meanwhile, is a tale about an unborn soul's sojourn on earth, with the intention of uniting its would-be parents. In the process, though, it has experiences that leave it disillusioned and unwilling to begin a life on earth. As serious as the subject sounds, though, Satya says that he has presented it as a light-hearted narrative. Satya plays one of the leads, a decision he took owing to financial reasons (as producer) and that he needed an actor who looked the part effortlessly. He is joined by Atharva Prakash, Brinda Acharya, Ayaana, among others on the cast.