Sandalwood director Girish Kasaravalli who recently won his 12th National Award for the film Kurmavatara expressed his thoughts about the Kannada film industry.

When he was asked about commercial films in Sandalwood, Girish said, "I don't know whether I am inside or outside the Kannada film industry. There is a vast division between art and commercial cinema. I am not aware of the problems that commercial cinema is facing, but I am happy about the way art cinema in Kannada is progressing.”

Talking about the remake films in Sandalwood, the director said, “It is upsetting to learn that a lot of movies produced today are remakes from other languages. We are not able to find original scripts and are satisfied with remakes. Irrespective of whether the film does well or not, at the end of the day, the Kannada sensibility is lost.”

He pointed out the inability of the Kannada filmmakers to make films based on local subjects. He praised Kollywood filmmakers who make simple yet subject oriented films such as Aadukalam and Angadi Theru. He also said that making films based on Kannada literary sources in Sandalwood will bring a change in the Sandalwood film industry.