I can make only puliyogare not biriyani: Dr. Girish Kasaravalli

At the first felicitation after the announcement of Padma Shri award from the Union Government, Dr. Girish Kasaravalli stated that he can prepare only puliyogare, not biriyani.

"I was not excited with the award as I get excited when awards for my films are announced. But this evening's 'Atmeeya' felicitation is something memorable for me. In the last six months, I lost Bahadur, my wife Vaishali and S. Ramachandra (cameraman), my right hand. I remember all of them now. I would say the award belongs to the entire Kannada Cinema industry. When I went back, I felt there are many deserving personalities in Kannada Cinema and the right recommendations were not made by the government of Karnataka in the past. Dr. Vishnu, G.V. Iyer, Jayanthi, etc. are all deserving candidates," he said.

"I am not considering this as an individual award at all. When Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and even a Canadian invited me to direct in their languages, I declined and explained I want to remain in Karnataka and do Kannada films. We are not poor in the talent. I always wanted to focus on 'Land and Language'. The present generation should cultivate the habit of discussing their scripts with colleagues. When I and T.S. Nagabharana were working, the giant B.V. Karanth used to ask suggestions and narrate the script. This helped in making class films. This type of environment must be cultivated. 'Chitra Samooha' is doing that work to some extent," noted the top ranking director.

We need not follow the Tamil and Hindi films, suggested Dr. Girish to his colleagues. We have giants of the past to learn and educate ourselves he observed. Films like Boothayyana Maga Ayyu, Kasthuri Nivasa and others were made with land and language given prominence. We need to learn from such films.

The humble Dr. Girish Kasaravalli stated he is like a wave, not a sea. Dr. Girish Kasaravalli was honoured with a shawl, jasmine garland and fruit basket. The other wings of Kannada cinema industry also garlanded him.

The Karnataka Chalanachitra Directors' Association President M.S. Ramesh, KFCC President Basanthkumar Patil, Cinema Workers' Federation President Ashok, Producers' Association President K.C.N. Chandrasekhar, Dwarakish and Ramesh Aravind were on the dais at the felicitation of Dr. Girish Kasaravalli.