Director AP Arjun on ‘Martin’, controversies and directing Dhruva Sarja FilmyMeet

Dhruva Sarja in ‘Martin’.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Dhruva Sarja-starrer Martin, one of the biggest Kannada films of 2024, has been surrounded by controversies weeks before its release. AP Arjun, the film’s director, took the legal route by blaming the film’s producer for not giving him the due credits on the film’s posters and other promotional materials. Arjun claimed that the title ‘An A P Arjun Film’ was removed from Martin’s posters, leading to controversy.

The rift between Arjun and producer Uday K Mehta was out in the open a couple of months ago when the latter filed a complaint against two VFX coordinators who failed to deliver the output on time despite multiple follow-ups. During the interrogation, the two alleged that Arjun had received a Rs 50 lakh commission from the duo to get Martin’s VFX work. Arjun had denied any underhand dealing.

“It’s important to do a film with the right people,” says Arjun, reflecting on the incidents. Talking about the theories behind the film’s delay, Arjun adds, “Any film team must follow a strict timeline.”

Martin, in the making for three years, has faced multiple hurdles. Some reports said that the film’s cast members, including Dhruva, delayed the film’s shoot. “It’s not a healthy sign when a film gets stretched unnecessarily.”

Director AP Arjun during the shoot of ‘Martin’.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Moving on from the VFX fiasco, Arjun says he is satisfied with the final output. “Around one hour and 50 minutes of the film involves VFX. If we had depended on just one VFX studio, the film wouldn’t have been ready by now. We divided the VFX work across 18 companies,” he says. 

Amidst the chaos, Arjun says he is excited about Martin, his first big-budget film since his debut, Ambari, in 2009. He is banking on his screenplay to do the trick when the film hits the screens worldwide on October 11, 2024. 

“The film has a reverse screenplay. In this day and age, people are addicted to reels that keep popping up on their phones. They watch so much content in just two to three minutes. So it’s important to keep the viewers interested every 10-15 minutes throughout the film’s runtime. That’s what I have tried to achieve in Martin.”

Stressing that the film is an out-and-out action entertainer, Arjun details the challenges of pulling off ambitious stunt sequences.

“Ram Lakshman masters choreographed some of the action sequences beautifully,” he explains. “I am also grateful to Ravi Varma, the film’s lead action choreographer. We had to shoot the climax action set piece in Rajasthan. It involved 10-15 trucks, 20 jeeps, one tanker and 40 bikes. We couldn’t shoot at the originally planned location. Thanks to Ravi Varma master and cinematographer Satya Hegde, we completed the action sequence using mocobot and special drones in Bengaluru in a 45-acre area.”

Dhruva Sarja in ‘Martin’.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

While the makers haven’t revealed much about the film’s story, Arjun calls Martin a patriotic movie. The film’s promotional content indicates Dhruva Sarja playing the role of a soldier. Martin has been positioned as a high-octane actioner. “I love the action sequences in the Fast & Furious and Mad Max series,” says Arjun. “I wanted to do something similar in this film.”

Arjun introduced Dhruva in 2012 with the romantic comedy Adhdhuri. Made on an estimated budget of Rs 4.5 crore, the film is said to have collected Rs 25 crore at the box office. The film ran for 100 days in 50 centres.

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In Adhdhuri, Dhruva’s dialogue delivery earned him fans, but the skill soon became a double-edged sword for the actor. In his subsequent films, including his last release, Pogaru,the actor got slammed for his exaggerated dialogue delivery, with people even blaming directors for stereotyping the actor into lead roles with lengthy punchlines.