Actor Sapthami Gowda discussed the expanding pan-India reach of Kannada cinema, its relationship with audiences, and pay disparity at the India Today Karnataka Roundtable. She appeared alongside co-actor Ashika Ranganath in a session titled #SandalwoodShining, moderated by journalist Akshita Nandagopal.
Speaking about the idea of pan-India films, Sapthami said a movie cannot simply be labelled pan-India, arguing that genuine relatability is more important than dubbing or marketing. She acknowledged that the Kannada film industry had sometimes failed to live up to audience expectations, but said viewers had consistently supported quality cinema.
When asked whether she would like to see more Kannada films such as Kantara and Toxic achieve a pan-India identity, Sapthami said films from every industry occasionally find audiences beyond their home market. “You can’t just make a movie and call it pan-India,” she said, adding that some films naturally develop a wider reach.
She said reaching a pan-India audience is not necessarily the biggest challenge. Instead, filmmakers need to create stories that people across regions can connect with. Simply dubbing a movie into several languages does not make it pan-India, she argued. Referring to Kantara, she said its cultural elements had a broader appeal, while its central theme of the rich becoming richer was also relatable to audiences across the country.
On audience trust
Discussing the relationship between Kannada cinema and its viewers, Sapthami said the industry has always enjoyed strong audience support but admitted that it had failed to meet expectations at times.
She said the industry had lost some of the trust it once enjoyed because it had made promises that were not always fulfilled. According to her, filmmakers had sometimes overpromised and underdelivered, and she accepted that responsibility rested with the industry.
At the same time, Sapthami stressed that audiences had never stopped supporting good Kannada films. Whenever a strong movie was released, she said viewers continued to turn up at theatres. She also noted that some films may have suffered from poor marketing but later received appreciation after arriving on OTT platforms. She said Kannada audiences had consistently stood by the industry.
On unequal pay
Addressing pay disparity in Kannada cinema, Sapthami said she had personally received considerable respect from the teams she had worked with. However, she acknowledged that differences in remuneration between male and female actors remained an important issue, while noting that pay inequality exists beyond the film industry as well.
She said there remains a substantial gap between what male and female actors are paid. In her view, an actor’s ability to negotiate higher remuneration is linked to their capacity to attract audiences to theatres, while established stars are increasingly being compensated through percentage-based deals.
Sapthami also emphasised the amount of work female actors contribute to films, saying their role involves far more than simply applying makeup and appearing in front of a camera. She expressed the hope that actresses would receive significantly better pay than they currently do.
Sapthami has appeared in films including Kantara and The Vaccine War.
