Bengaluru: 

Nidhi - Kathegala Kudike (A Piggybank of Stories), a collection of five short stories, thus came to adorn the shelves of book stalls in Bengaluru five months ago. Since then Kaushik and his 40-member team, have been relentlessly pursuing its sales participating in every fair and exhibition. Priced at Rs 200, slowly and steadily the book's sales are catching up, giving them hope. "In the last four months, we have sold around 17,000 copies of the book.

You have a great story and want to bring it to the silver screen but find no producers? Then look at this bunch of youngsters who found a unique way to pool money to realise their dream of making a career in films. After two years of unsuccessful searching for a producer to invest in their story and give wings to their dream, Kaushik Ratna and his friends decided to publish a book of their own and produce a film from the proceeds they got from its sales.

"Our aim is to sell one lakh copies. We hope to achieve this milestone in another five to six months and become the proud producers of our movie Illegal," Kaushik told ETV Bharat, taking time out from attending customers at their stall at the first-ever book fair organised at Vidhana Soudha by the Karnataka Legislature Secretariat.

"If we sell one lakh copies, we will be left with Rs one crore after deducting all our expenses which is enough to produce our film," said Darshan, who is donning the lead role besides assisting Kaushik in the direction department.

The efforts and perseverance of Kaushik and others are also catching the attention of some producers. "After seeing our efforts and passion, some producers have approached us. But we have decided to continue our effort for another 5-6 months. If we fail to generate the required amount from book sales, then we will rope in them as co-producers," he said.

Written by Kaushik himself, the book is garnering the interest of the people, not because of its content alone but also due to the purpose for which it is written and sold. "I liked the passion and dedication of these young boys. So I wanted to make my little contribution by buying their book," says Mahantesh, who purchased a copy of Nidhi. "There are some people who bought the copies worth Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 and asked us to circulate them among the school students," Kaushik added.

The book has been rightfully dedicated to those who were once aspiring filmmakers but settled for other means of life after failing to find opportunities in the film industry. "We do not want to become one of them. We want to instill confidence among young people with no means but wanting to make a career in the film industry. So we need to succeed and we are confident we will," he said.

The storyline of Illegal revolves around the greed for money among today's youths and its impact on relations. "The movie explains this through online financial frauds and seven main characters," Kaushik said.

Read More :

Vidya Balan Warns Fans About Fake AI-Generated Video Circulating Online