Sujeeth, 24, the first-time maker having been born in a hospital placed in the same complex as the theater playing Ramgopal Varma’s Shiva feels that the infant film-connections has indeed come full circle today. From his first opportunity to his first compliment to his first feature, the 40-short-film-old lad is confident of Run Raja Run’s fate. Here’s what he has to say.
How was the transition phase from being another short-film maker to a glamourised feature director?
The offer arrived at a time when I wasn’t quite worried about my immediate move. A previous full-length film of mine had commenced by then which had to come to a halt for several unfortunate reasons. Many sections of the media were happy to write me off. I had no choice but to continue to do what I was best at, making short films. One such was Run Raja Run. I had an opportunity to show this to the makers of Mirchi who had expressed their liking to it. Later, I used the title to write a fresh script for them. The rest as they is history. Before I had the chance to seriously evaluate my progress as a storyteller, I landed up at this.
Being a writer yourself, how can you justify the obsession of the current crop of short films majorly having a teenage-love backdrop?
Frankly, the directors of short films are equally interested at crafting thrillers and dabbling at new genres. But, the desire to play to the demands of online crowds and their comments is often making them tread the cliché-ridden path. Their state of mind about such misunderstood trends is another reason for the sustenance of such stereotypes. They lose the plot going for those overplayed online hits. Our film industry too is a reflection of it. On a personal note, my short films like Vesham and Love Chemical may have won international acclaim but it did nothing to get me a film offer. It explains of us living in a confined bottle.
Why do you feel that most of the contemporary directors are story and dialogue-writers themselves? Has the concept of an exclusive director vanished?
When an aspirant director goes to a producer or an actor, you obviously have to narrate them a script. In that sense, when you go scouting for good writers to choose your directorial showcase, they are understandably double-minded about your potential to execute it on-screen. Ultimately, it’s a bonus to write and direct equally well. However, if the success record comes to a director’s rescue in the future, you can be ready to command a writer from the producer at your own will. Our current scenario has writers turning directors, primarily swayed by their insecurities of giving their child to another person. Our industry is yet to encourage someone like an Anurag Kashyap or a Chetan Bhagat who have their own assured niche audience for their body of work.
Did the fact of Sharwanand being an actor more than a star help for Run Raja Run ?
Sharwanand, regardless of commercial success has been an actor that family audiences, mostly the female section, are openly fond of. Although I don’t have an opinion of about him being or not being called a star, there’s no denying of his abilities as a performer. I didn’t have a reference point for him in Run Raja Run, say like Prasthanam or any other film in his past. So, I modelled him on the lines of my off-screen character which perfectly fit the bill for a story of this nature. The film is a lightened, sugar-coated crime-drama that’ll be engaging as long as it lasts.
Any specific reason on choosing a newcomer and not an established actress beside the actor ?
The heroine belongs to a higher middle-class family in my film. She should ideally come off as one who is brash and arrogant in her ways. I too wanted to cast a Telugu-speaking actress for the role in the initial stages. As the audition process went on, I felt the freshness Seerat Kapoor had, would work very well with our script considering the fact that we were also planning on revamping Sharwanand’s look as a contrast to his appearances in the past. The film’s freshness quotient received a good boost after this.
After your struggles to get here, what do you think it takes to become a filmmaker ?
There’s no predefined formula as such. I can assure you that films were never my priority or a planned career-choice for a long while. Having done my B.Com, I started making short-films in 2006 and went on to total, say 40 in about eight years shooting from every possible device I had an access to. This journey helped me realize that it wasn’t a piece of cake after all. I must confess that good communication skills are a must to convince a producer. You need to back that up by a formidable portfolio of your past work too.
Are you worried about getting stuck in a situation where a film’s value is judged by its commercial potential ?
I genuinely have that worry. The timing of the release needs to be so apt that it shouldn’t get lost in a flurry of formulaic or overtly crowd-pleasing films. People around you fret a lot about business returns in the first weekend and the pressure gets to you unknowingly. You start thinking on similar lines. The producers in my case are sure of my film’s acceptance and are equally prepared to pass it as another honest experiment if need be. Good films, as per my inner conscience, will find its true audiences irrespective of all these barriers. I hope my film is one among them.
Having got to know that you are an avid fan of Ram Gopal Verma, can we expect his influences in your debut film ?
There’s a long story about RGV’s influence in my life. I was born in a hospital which was accompanied by a theater complex that played his film Shiva (October 5,1989).I was born in the same month, nearly 21 days after it released (October 26,1989). I was told that the sound-effects were clearly audible to the crowds in the hospital too. So, his influences in my life are very deep-rooted, much before I recognised the worth of his legendary films. I however have included no tributes or parodies of his in Run Raja Run. Sharwanand started working simultaneously for his Satya 2 and my film. So, the master and the disciple equation then was humbling. Earning a compliment from him (Sharwanand) that I was the most promising director that he has ever worked with is one I’ll cherish for long.
Did you see any amount of reluctance from the producers to spend on for a debutant’s film ?
Never did we, in the sense our producers UV Creations bothered much about spending more or less for the film. Our focus was on ensuring a neat output in a specified time-span which we eventually achieved. In fact, the actors and the producers were happy to see me translate the story onto the screen better than what I had promised during my oral narration. They weren’t the ones to be worried of its box-office fortune. I had delivered what was expected of me and that mattered the most to them. You need to consider the fact that this is their follow-up film to Mirchi too. So, there was no chance of a compromise from either of the perspectives.
Did you ever have a plan on joining as an assistant director to an established maker and then venturing out for a prepared debut later ?
I was supposed to join as an assistant to Vishal Bharadwaj for a film. I had narrated a script to UTV, Mumbai when I was 22 which they liked but having sensed the need of more experience under my belt to ensure a freer-hand, they wanted me to give it a shot later. I felt they had a valid point too. I started chalking out plans of working under an established Telugu film director as an assistant and get to directing at about 27 years. I got my first-film offer as a director before all this materialised, which as I mentioned earlier had to be shelved. Then I realised of not planning too ahead. I thought of making a Telugu film at 30 and do a Bollywood film at 35. Now at 25, I’m free from such thoughts. I only think about making the best of all the opportunities I get.
Have you added any autobiographical touches to Run Raja Run considering this is your first film ?
Except for Sharwanand’s character, for which I wanted to use my persona as a reference to make it seem fresh for the audiences, there’s no connection between the story and my life. As I know of enough of the audiences and their exposure to cinema today, I can’t afford to use references of any actors and act as if I’m pulling off something fresh.
Won’t the other two releases this week, Maaya and Adavi Kachina Vennela have an impact on your film’s box-office performance ?
Maaya and Adavi Kachina Vennela are thrillers more or so. I believe each genre will have its own loyalists. Run Raja Run is an entertainer in comparison to these releases. So, we are sure of it to do well and reach out to the public. The earlier release date, July 18 too had two releases in the form of Pora Pove and Oka Criminal Prema Katha. This competitive atmosphere is something that’s unavoidable and beyond your reach.
More about Sujeeth, the person than the maker ?
I as a person don’t talk or socialise much. My world is limited to my dog, mom, office and home. Beyond that, I have a limited set of friends with whom I make sure I watch every movie that’s playing in the town. I don’t view them through the eyes of a critic. I want to learn out of each film I get to see. Fame even when I was a short film-maker as well as now hasn’t changed me much.
Interview by Srivathsan N. First published in Cinegoer.net
