29th March 2023
Hyderabad
First-time director Srikanth Odela is a man of few words. With the promotional materials of Dasara, he turned heads and the great deal of buzz that the film has managed to attract so far, he sure is a voice to watch out for. In an exclusive conversation with idlebrain.com ahead of the film’s mammoth release Thursday, the Godavarikhani lad spoke about how he got attracted to films, his stint with Sukumar, having misconceptions about Nani, Dasara, the 36 cuts for the film, his other filmmaking inspirations and more…
Nani has been promoting Dasara extensively for over a month all over India and the film is riding high on expectations. What are your emotions right now as your labour of love is hours away from a theatrical rollout?
I’m excited and at the same time confident. There is fear as well. So it’s a mixed bag of emotions. Too many things are going on in my head right now.
Did you always wanted to become a filmmaker?
After writing my X exam, I watched Jagadam and it instantly sparked an interest in films. I liked its style. Also, my father and uncle liked movies. They would take me to movies frequently. So the interest grew gradually. Jagadam, however, was a major inspiration to get into films. I’ve studied B.Com due to my father’s pressure. I stayed with my uncle in Karimnagar to pursue my graduation. In fact, my dad wanted me to go to the US so that I can become an engineer. My family was well educated. My brothers, sisters, cousins studied well and settled in the US in different professions, whereas I was content if I got 35 plus marks. Dad was worried about me. But somehow I couldn’t connect to academics. My life revolved around family and friends. My uncle even recommended me to some other directors but I was keen to assist only Sukumar. It was after intermediate that I was adamant on getting into films. I would come to Sukumar sir house in Hyderabad and roam around in the hope of bagging an assistant director chance under him. I sat in front of his house for four years and he reached out to me one day finally. He asked me to do a short film. I didn’t know much but I did it. He liked it and gave me an assistant director gig for Nannaku Prematho but since it was shot predominantly in Europe, I couldn’t go there. I would help the unit with anything from Hyderabad. For Rangasthalam though, I was a proper assistant director who was in charge of the costumes department. I didn’t learn the technical aspects of filmmaking on Rangasthalam because by the time I landed on location after getting the extras ready, Sukumar sir would have completed filming the master shot.
What did you learn from Sukumar?
I understood from him that you should fear cinema but in a positive sense so that you will be careful executing it. At every step, he would be afraid whether he is right or wrong. The passion is there, so is the fear of things going wrong.
Didn’t you feel that it would’ve been better if you stayed with Sukumar for another film?
No, I never felt that way. After Rangasthalam, I came out and wrote a story. In fact, Dasara was green-lit much before Pushpa started but due to COVID-19 and Nani Anna’s other commitments like Shyam Singha Roy and Ante Sundaraniki, I had to wait. I narrated Dasara story to him on Dasara day in 2018.
You’ve learnt very little from your stint on Rangasthalam. What made you go solo?
I don’t know that all… I’ve had a story and I was firm that I want to do it. Luckily, Nani Anna asked me to do a test shoot after the narration. After doing it, I understood that I need to learn a lot. The test shoot helped me to realize that I depended a lot on the cameraman. But the best thing was that Nani Anna agreed to do the project after seeing what I shot. I learnt filmmaking – the number of shots needed for a scene, the mood of the scene – during the COVID-19 period of two years.
Did you refer to other material as well?
No. As a matter of fact I barely watch English films; I don’t think I’ve watched at least 10 English films in my entire life. I learnt from the films of K Viswanath and Mani Ratnam and would make notes. I would carefully observe why a scene was filmed in so many shots, why they opened a scene with a particular shot etc etc.
How did you approach Nani?
It was my producer Sudhakar garu who insisted I narrate Dasara to Nani. I got in touch with Nani Anna’s manager and he gave me 40 minutes of time for the narration. After meeting Anna, I told him, ‘Your manager asked me to narrate in 40 minutes. I don’t think I can do it. I will narrate it in my own style and if you feel bored at any stretch, you can ask me to stop’. He agreed. I gave him a four-hour narration. He liked the story but was apprehensive whether I can pull off the film visually. He chose a couple of scenes and asked me to do a test shoot. I’ve got the required cast and shot those scenes at a village near Vikarabad for two-and-a-half days. I took a couple of days for editing and post-production. When I showed Nani Anna the footage, he appreciated the colour tint and felt the mood of the scenes was new before agreeing to headline the project.
Dasara has been on your mind since when and what was the inspiration behind it?
It’s been there. It’s not a new story that I’ve written. An incident that happened for real in AP back in the day inspired me and five minutes into the film you will understand it. I started writing it in early 2018 and continued writing it until the completion of shoot. I didn’t have a bound script. Whenever I had time, I improved it for the better.
Let’s talk about the film…
It’s all about emotions. It’s about a village and the people there. It’s not an action film; it’s an emotional drama. The core point of friendship and as far as the storyline is concerned; I don’t know how to frame it. It runs on friendship though.
Can you recall the first day shoot experience? What was going inside you?
I had clarity and was fearless. Maybe in the process of getting the film made and the fact that I became close to Nani Anna, I was clear on what I need to get from my end. We kicked off the proceedings with the Dhoom Dhaam song last March. Because of the time COVID-19 gave, I could picture Dasara in my head completely and get what I wanted on location.
What is the best part of working with an actor like Nani?
When Sudhakar garu wanted me to narrate the story to Nani, I said I won’t initially. I had heard that Nani Anna would interfere in the story and that he would trouble makers with his changes. I told the same to Sudhakar garu but he reprimanded me and asked me to go ahead with the narration. After Nani Anna agreed to the project and our journey began, I had that fear inside me of when he would ask for the changes but the best thing is that if anyone else had done Dasara instead of him, it would’ve been an Ugadi pachadi. He never questioned me one day. When I said, ‘Anna I’m doing this, he would say ok, ok’. He was completely different from what I heard. As an actor, he would do whatever I asked him to do. He acted like your own brother.
What has been the most difficult and challenging part of Dasara?
In terms of execution, the action part was difficult. There are three action episodes, out of which two are small. The third episode, which comes in the pre-climax, proved to be tough. I had to write it like a scene and it involves Nani Anna butchering one guy after the other. I had to retain the emotion while he goes about his job.
Nani recently said that the 10 assistant directors who worked for Dasara can become directors. That must have given you a high?
What I feel proud of the film is that out of the 12-member team, 10 are new and all of them were under 30. A film like Dasara generally needs experienced assistant directors but knowingly or unknowingly, I went ahead with newcomers. Vinay and Hari were co-directors and they guided these 10 people and we operated like one cohesive unit. Now, these 10 can direct feature films on their own. It’s better if producers note that statement of Nani Anna. I’m not exaggerating but if you listen to their stories, you will understand that they are teeming with fresh ideas.
Dasara has been cleared by the regional censor board with 36 cuts. Will the cuts affect the viewing experience?
No, the cuts won’t spoil the experience. My dialogues mirrored what I spoke in my village. I felt it was not necessary to remove a word like Pirral (derrière). It’s not a derogatory word. So is Baancheth. Behenchood is. Sometimes an intense emotional drama set in a rural milieu needs such words.
Chamkeela Angeelesi has been a chartbuster in all the languages it released, inspiring a flood of reels on Instagram. Did you anticipate its success?
I expected it. I thought Dhoom Dhaam would do well and it did but Chamkeela Angeelesi cut an even better response. Why did I expect it? I thought it would connect to my parents because the language was simple. If they connected to it, I felt its appeal would spread faster. If I take Ori Vaari to my dad, he would raise his eyebrows. But Chamkeela Angeelesi had words like Vadina and Bammardhi which everybody can connect to and that’s what happened.
Sukumar aside, who are your other filmmaking inspirations?
I like Krishna Vamsi garu a lot. When I came to the industry, I didn’t watch his Anthahpuram (1998). One day my father asked me whether I watched it. I said I didn’t. How can you make a film without watching Anthahpuram, he said. I felt I was missing out on something and I immediately watched it. It blew me away. For that time, the shot making was raw. I also like Rajamouli garu and Puri garu.
-NAGARAJ GOUD
