31 August 2022
Hyderabad
In an exclusive conversation with idlebrain.com, Ranga Ranga Vaibhavanga director Gireeshaaya talks about Krishna Vamsi’s Gulabi influence on him as a child, his stint as an AD, working with Sandeep Reddy Vanga, RRV and much more…
Debutant director Gireeshaaya has been travelling with Ranga Ranga Vaibhavanga (RRV), fronted by Vaishnav Tej and Ketika Sharma, for the past 18 months and with the film days away from a big screen rollout, he is a picture of calm. “To be honest, I’m not going through any emotions as such (smiles). I’m not nervous about what happens tomorrow because we are confident about the film’s box office prospects. We are ready to enjoy the fruits of our labour,” he tells us with an air of optimism.
His confidence stems from the fact that his vision for the project matched the output. “Devi Sri Prasad has been a big asset to the project. Especially his re-recording. It’s his best in the recent past. After we saw the film with his work, our confidence in the project increased further. And Vaishnav’s energy will be another asset,” he maintains.
While RRV may be his maiden Telugu film, Gireeshaaya’s first film as a director is Adithya Varma, the Tamil remake of Telugu box office smash Arjun Reddy. While it did perform decently in Tamil Nadu, proving to be a perfect launch pad for Chiyaan Vikram’s son Dhruv, the director did attract a lot of Tamil offers. But his heart was longing for a debut on the home turf—after all it’s a place which attracted him to films in the first place and where he cut his teeth as a filmmaker. “It was Krishna Vamsi’s Gulabi that inspired me to become a filmmaker. I was studying VIII standard back then. While it took my own sweet time to enter the industry, I was, however, determined that once I entered it, I should make it count,” reminisces the filmmaker who hails from Nowduru, West Godavari district.
After studying M.Sc. Chemistry, he worked at Vimta Labs in Hyderabad for two-and-a-half years. The job paid him well but he made up his mind to pursue his luck in the industry soon after the release of Sukumar’s Arya, which left a lasting impact on him. His mother was a pillar of support, not forcing him to continue with the job. “When I was doing the job, I clarified to her that it’s not a permanent thing that I will be doing and that I will leave it for direction. She, or for that matter my sister never objected to my aspirations,” he informs, adding that Vimta Labs initially didn’t accept his resignation. “When I told my manager that I was looking to pursue a career in the industry, he didn’t believe me, telling me that I might have got a job somewhere else. He asked me to clear it frankly and leave. He didn’t believe me despite my repeated assurances. He said, ‘It’s not a simple thing to crack the industry and you will return a couple of months later. You can later join the same job again.’ Within two months itself, I rang him and told that I was firm with my decision.”
As he didn’t know anyone from the industry, it took a lot of time for him to land an assistant director post. “I’ve faced a lot of struggle,” he sighs. He was an assistant on films like Comedy Express, Paramanandayya Student Gang, Ee Vayasulo, and Rye Rye. Prominent films like Onamalu, Bhimavaram Bullodu and Yamaleela 2 happened later. In total, he worked for 14 years as an assistant, associate and co-director. “I’ve also worked under Vijayendra Prasad. I was Nag Ashwin’s co-director for Yevade Subramanyam and Mahanati. I was also the co-director of Arjun Reddy.”
Working with Sandeep Reddy Vanga was a big learning curve for him. “If I learnt something from my stint as an AD, it was from Sandeep. As a filmmaker he never compromises on his vision and that’s a great quality to have. If he thinks of a certain expression in a scene, he will stick to it and capture it at any cost,” he raves.
In fact, Sandeep even heard the script of RRV. “He liked it, saying it’s been a long time since someone wrote such an emotion. He offered his advice at a particular point in the script and it helped me,” Gireeshaaya avers.
His interest in family entertainers triggered him to pen RRV. “I love family movies and I felt that our audiences were deprived of a good family film for the past several years. It is in this context, RRV took shape. It’s a love story/family entertainer. I felt Vaishnav was apt for the film. Through a common friend, I’ve approached him to headline it. Uppena was on sets at that time. He liked the story and wanted to know why I was keen on him to lead it. He plays Rishi, a final year M.B.B.S student. He belonged to the same age group as that of the role. On top of it, he looks like a boy-next-door, which was a criterion for the role. During the narration, I was very clear on his look, hairdo, behavior pattern and his costumes. He promised to do the film in Jan 2021 after six-seven story sessions. It was he who introduced producer Bapineedu.
“Uppena released soon after and I was worried whether he will do my film or not because of Uppena’s monstrous success. The script work of RRV was on, while my heart began to beat faster. But he is a gentleman. When he gives a word, he sticks to it. Many big directors approached him after Uppena but he told them that he gave a word to me and he will honour it,” the director marvels.
Talking about RRV’s plot, he shares, “Any relationship will thrive if ego doesn’t come in between two individuals. The film will have the josh and energy of the title all throughout its running time. People will come out of the cinema halls, saying Ranga Ranga Vaibhavanga. In the film, both Rishi and Radha (played by Ketika Sharma) like each other a lot but their massive ego doesn’t let them speak to each other. There’s a reason why they behave like that and it will be established in the beginning of the film.”
Finding a leading lady for the project proved to be an easier said than done task. “Radha’s is a well-etched character and we discussed many names, even considering repeating Krithi Shetty at one point. But then we felt that the freshness factor would be lost. We began our search again and in the process, I saw Ketika. I felt she was appropriate for the part. After conducting a look test, we zeroed in on her,” he states, adding that Naveen Chandra, who plays Radha’s brother Arjun Prasad, will be one of the highlights of the film. “When I was narrating the story, I told him it’s a role which will earn him respect. And I still believe that.”
Shot in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Araku in 70 working days, Gireeshaaya promises that audiences will get to see a new Vaishnav with the film. “He owned the character. He has a certain ease about him. He is a good listener, absorbs everything including modulations, develops the role in his head and enacts it.”
As a writer-director, Gireeshaaya, a fan of K Viswanath and EVV Satyanarayana’s body of work, believes in hopping genres. “RRV will be my first and last family entertainer. My next will be a crime drama and I will follow it with a thriller mostly,” he concludes.
-NAGARAJ GOUD
