From pencil to picture: Rathan Gangadhar's ‘Sees Kaddi' draws from life and friendship

The Hindu

14 hours ago

The Kannada film, Sees Kaddi, marks Rathan Gangadhar's directorial debut. It is an anthology that explores stories about children through the metaphor of a pencil. The film has already made a mark on the festival circuit.
It was screened at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (2023), selected for the 10th Noida International Film Festival (2023), where it won Best Direction, and also featured at the Bharat International Film Festival (2023), where it received the Best Children's Film award.
Despite the accolades, Rathan remains anxious. 'I only hope the film appeals to the audience,' says the 39-year-old director, who has previously helmed numerous ad films. Explaining the title, Sees Kaddi, he says, 'It translates to 'pencil' in English.' The film is a drama designed for younger audiences, crafted as a bridge between mainstream and children-focused storytelling.'
Structured as a hyperlinked anthology, its narratives do not follow a chronological order. 'Instead,' Rathan explains, 'they reflect the experience of using a pencil — you write, erase, sharpen the lead, and continue. The stories unfold in a similar rhythm.'
Born and raised in Bengaluru, Rathan is an alumnus of MES College, Malleswaram, where he first discovered his passion for theatre and writing. The idea for Sees Kaddi, he reveals, was sparked by a single paragraph he read in a short story collection by Paulo Coelho.
'I read the book in 2016, and something about that paragraph stayed with me. It touched me deeply, and I began building stories around those words and concepts.' What started as a spark soon evolved into a collaborative effort.
'My friends and I came together to shape the story and develop the screenplay,' says Rathan, adding that the entire team behind the film consists of close friends. 'They're my sounding boards, my collaborators, and now, my cast and crew. Sees Kaddi is a film made by friends, with friends for an audience we hope will become friends too.'
Rathan shares that Sees Kaddi features a rich tapestry of dialects from across Karnataka, including rural Tumakuru, Bengaluru, Havyaka, and North Karnataka. 'I believe the Tumakuru dialect hasn't really been explored in cinema,' he says. 'Since my father is originally from Tumakuru, I have a special fondness for it.'
Rathan began his journey in the film industry in 2012 as an assistant writer. 'Unfortunately, the films I worked on never saw the light of day, but I learned a great deal through the process,' he reflects. He later transitioned into advertising to hone his filmmaking skills, working on several high-profile campaigns, including one featuring the late Puneeth Rajkumar.
Despite his background in advertising, Rathan admits that marketing a film presents a whole new set of challenges. 'Cinema is a completely different ball game altogether,' he says. Sees Kaddi is produced under Grahana, a production house he co-founded in 2017 with friends Sampath Shivshankar and Krithi Nannnaiah. Featuring a cast of theatre and child actors, the film released on June 6.