“Everywhere we treat other human beings without warmth”

With the pulse of a thriller, meticulous planning, and a claustrophobic atmosphere, Natesh Hedge explores violence and power, corruption and politics in a seemingly peaceful community in southern India in Tiger’s Pond.

The film is based on two short stories by Amaresh Nugadoni. Why did you choose these particular stories? How did you weave them together?

The character of the girl, Pathi, was the first thing that drew me in. I took some elements from the stories and then changed many things and wrote my own. It’s a process of appropriation.

I read that the starting point of the film was a pregnant woman with a mental disability whom you used to see during your university years, and that she reminded you of a similar character in Amaresh’s story. Were you trying to denounce the mistreatment that such people suffer in villages?

It’s not just about the villages. It’s a miniature of the whole world. Don’t we see such cases everywhere, where we treat other human beings without warmth?

Just like your previous film, Pedro, Tiger’s Pond focuses on people marginalized by society and feudal violence. Did you conceive it as a continuation?

Yes, it’s a complementary work, even aesthetically. There may be thematic similarities in social marginalization and feudal violence. But the world created is, as I say, one without warmth.

Your father, Gopal Hegde, has acted in both your films. What does having him in the cast bring to the project?

His face is as expressive as a landscape. He’s a fantastic actor.

And you? How does your approach to the film change when you direct yourself?

Actually, not at all. I don’t try to make distinctions between professional and non-professional actors. Also, I trust and allow myself to be vulnerable in front of my actors, and they with me.

As a filmmaker, you need to be precise when shooting on celluloid, which is very demanding in independent cinema. What were the advantages and disadvantages of shooting on 16 mm film?

I loved working with celluloid. With the same precision and discipline I apply to digital filmmaking. The difference is that with film, I feel it as something alive.

With Tiger’s Pond, you’ve reinforced what’s been called the new wave of Kannada cinema. What themes and cinematic approaches connect you with contemporaries like Jaishankar Aryar, Sumanth Bhat, Ram Reddy, Utsav Gonwar, Champa Shetty, and Prithvi Konanur?

I don’t know if there’s a wave, but there is a group of filmmakers telling their own stories from their own places. To call it a wave, we need many more films. But I’m hopeful.