pizza
Interview with Mohan Krishna Indraganti about Sammohanam by Maya Nelluri
You are at idlebrain.com > Interviews >
Follow Us

19 June 2018
Hyderabad

Director Mohan Krishna Indraganti has a hatrick on his hands with the success of Sammohanam. Over the years, he has made some magnificent films, some which were ahead of their times, but all of which were appreciated. Now that the times seem to have caught up, this director looks to be on an upward career trail. We caught up with the man of the moment to gauge his take on the hit film.

What are your thoughts on the success of Sammohanam?
In all humility I have to say that we were expecting it because when I saw Sammohanam during the post production stage I was happy with how it was shaping up. I felt that it has to work but of course one can't be a 100% sure until the movie gets in front of audiences. I was definitely hoping it would work. Our hunch was based on the fact that it had many elements that I strongly felt would connect with various strata like teens, middle-aged people and so forth. The success is all thanks to the audience and also the media who’ve carried the film on their shoulders quite passionately.

Sammohanam, like a lot of your films, is a conversational film. Would you say that’s your style of filmmaking?
In a way it is my style because I’m deeply influenced by European film makers like the French Truffaut, the Scandinavian Bergman, and also Woody Allen who have a very conversational style themselves. I don’t try to write dialogues with a capital d but more day-to-day conversations which almost seem banal, they convey emotions through a subtext which is a lot more difficult to write compared to loaded conversations. In Sammohanam I ended up writing five or six long conversations which I felt were central to the film; I was concerned about how people will take it but I’m thrilled with the way that people have lapped it up.

Content films weren't so popular when you started directing, but now they are. What do you feel has brought about this change?
The majority of audiences earlier weren’t familiar with the style in which I made some of my films. For example I still feel like Golconda High School is one of the best sporting films in terms of its authenticity. The way it was shot and the issues that were discussed like the lack of sporting opportunities, lack of playgrounds for children and how the coaching centres are killing children’s creativity because of their schedules are relevant even today. Take Anthaka Mundu Aa Tarvatha, which focuses on live-in relationships. These films weren’t blockbusters but they did fairly well and they made a dent. But now the times have changed, thanks largely to foreign cinema, Netflix, Amazon, Malayalam and Tamil films. Now there is an awareness in audiences that cinema should be about life and our people rather than fantasy figures. But the rule always remains that you have to make a good film because people now have a lot of options, they can just switch to laptops. Audiences have a better yardsticks of excellence through which to judge. So there is that much more pressure on filmmakers to bring audiences into theatres. It is a great time and it is also a challenging time.

In this film you’ve discussed the stigma associated with the film industry and actresses. Did you feel you needed to give a message with what’s currently going on in the news?
I never want to give a message through a film. I feel that film is an art; it is not a medium to give social messages. Of course you can't make a film without an underlying message, even the most commercial films have that, but it can't be in the foreground. I wrote the story in 2012, and it developed into a full-fledged screenplay by the end of 2016. All these insights came to me during my conversations with the actresses and others I worked with and I wanted to use them in a story but you can’t just use it in any story. When Sammohanam came to mind I thought it would be perfect to showcase the issues rather than pushing the issue to the foreground. I wanted to incorporate it into an odd situation so it happens in a romantic conversation where there is no lecturing. The guy already has prejudices so she asks him what he thinks of her in a way to test him. I'm always trying to sub textually convey my message. The job of a filmmaker or artist is to share their perspective but not to give the audiences messages and take them to task. For that there are other platforms like colleges, television, news papers. Dance, music and cinema encapsulate our times so they are not best used to sermonise.

How did the idea come about for Sammohanam?
When I was filming Golconda High School in a house in 2010-11 I was fascinated by how the family that gave us the house reacted to us. They were talking to us, watching from different corners, they were fascinated by it. For them, filmmaking was demystified in this process. They understood that the intimacy shown on screen between the actors is done in an environment with hundreds of people watching. I always thought what if I flip the conversation and see it through their eyes so that's how the germ came about. What happens when the world of cinema comes into the house of the protagonist? First Mr. Naresh’s character came to mind, then the others. It took about six to seven years for the film to take shape.

That’s a long time!
Stories are organic and you can't force them into a shape. They are like children who have to acquire their own features. It takes time for some but some develop in months. It was actually the second half of this film that took me time. I felt that until the middle it was great but then I had many versions of how they would get back together. The initial versions of the second half became very dark. I've interacted with women who've been through a lot, they’ve gone through hell. There are a lot of women who've I’ve seen been through it so there was a very depressing version but I wanted to make a film that is heart-warming and celebrates life, love and the women in the industry. There are many women here without family support who’ve made it and are making it; but there r a lot of prejudices within the industry and outside about their lives. I dint want a sermon or an ideological piece. That took me a lot of time to carve it. Some said that the part about the flashback is familiar but we needed it there because about 90% of women in the industry that I’ve met have had similar situations where the boyfriends or managers become parasites or the co-stars have been harassing them. The same story has to be told until that story doesn't have to be told.

How did the Notting Hill story line inspire you?
It's definitely an aesthetic inspiration. My film starts with a dedication to the writer and director of Notting Hill and My Week with Marilyn. They have been seminal influences to Sammohanam but there are no plot similarities. Sammohanam echoes the spirit of these films. In particular there is a line in Notting Hill, “I maybe a star but I'm also a normal girl seeking a boy’s love”. I thought that is a great line and a point of departure for me to write the story of an actress. Except that the film is about a star and a normal boy, there is no other plot similarity. I’ve also been inspired by Guddi by Hrishikesh Mukherji, Sunset Boulevard by Willy Wilder, and Sitara in Telugu.

How did you go about the casting?
Initially Sudheer wasn’t in my radar because I was looking for a boy-next-door and from watching Bhaghi etc he came across very muscular. I wanted someone very tender, vulnerable, artistic; but when I saw Shamantakamani I thought Sudheer was very good in it, there was a vulnerability which he really brought out. Coming to the actress, I wanted someone who wasn’t totally familiar to Telugu audiences but who could carry a star image. If I cast any local star their image would have overshadowed it. When I saw Cheliya I was sure that Aditi was it and she was very excited. Then of course there is Naresh garu and Pavitra Lokesh who usually plays the morose mother roles but she is a very beautiful vibrant woman. Harshini is a great discovery as a sister. The most interesting part for me was that I had worked with a group of actors I'd never worked with before. It was a novel feeling because I’ve always worked with people who I’m comfortable with. That was new, exciting, kept me on my toes and it’s made me so happy.

Will you look at working with bigger names now?
I never worked like that. I usually write and then look for the actors but I definitely want to work with our stars because all the Telugu stars right now are wonderful actors. But if I propose something to them I want it to be something that will really excite them and be novel/ unheard of before. When I come up with that, then I’ll definitely approach them. I also can't write with stars in my mind because their image will start influencing the story.

What’s next?
I'm exhausted because from 2016-18 I made three films which never happened in my life. I definitely don't want to make the same type of film next. I’ll explore action or thriller genres which I’ve always been interested in but I will take a month off and then start writing. I’ll probably be shooting around the end of year.

- Maya Nelluri


vijay jeedigunta

About Maya Nelluri: Writer, Artist, and Make-up & Hair Professional; but first and foremost - Telugu Cinema Addict! Previous work experience includes Styling for films and photo shoots featuring Shriya Saran, Rana, Saina Nehwal, Nani and many more. Also worked as Associate Editor for SouthScope and Copy Editor for Channel 6 among others.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/mayanelluri
Twitter: @mayanelluri


Other Interviews

Divakar Mani (actress)
Keerthy Suresh (actress)
Vakkantham Vamsi (director)
Koratala Siva (director)
Vamsi Koduri (actor)
Nani (actor)
Anupama Parameswaran (actress)
Megha Akash (actress)
Krishna Chaitanya (director)
Sharan Koppisetty (director)
Prasanth Varma (director)
Manjula (director)
VI Anand (director)
Allu Sirish (actor)
Sriram Venu (actor)
Anup Rubens (music director)
Naveen Chandra (actor)
BVS Ravi (director)
Nara Rohit (actor)
Goverdhan Gajjala (actor)
Vishal (actor)
Praveen Sattaru (director)
Pooja Kumar (Actress)
Ram (Actor)
Sharwanand (Actor)
Mahesh Babu (Actor)
Jr. NTR (Actor)
Anil Paduri (VFX)
Nivetha Thomas (actress)
Neha Bhasin (singer)
Kranthi Madhav (director)
Mahesh Surapaneni (director)
Krishna Marimuthu (director)
Yakub Ali (director)
Raj & DK (directosr)
Sandeep Reddy Vanga (director)
Mahi V Raghav (director)
Taapsee (actress)
Hanu Raghavapudi (director)
Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas (actor)
Krishna Vamsi (director)
Sekhar Kammula (director)
Catherine Tresa (actress)
Shiva Nirvana (director)
Harish Shankar (director)
Pattabhi R. Chilukuri (director)
Anand Ranga (director)
Mohan Krishna Indraganti (director)
Adivi Sesh (actor)
Vamsy (director)
Sumanth Ashwin (actor)
Anisha Ambrose (actress)
Sudheer Varma (director)
Ritu Varma (actress)
Rahul (actor)
Srinivas Avasarala (actor)
Pritesh Depala (CEO of Phars Films)
KK Senthil Kumar (director)
Sreenu Vaitla (director)
Varun Tej (actor)
Nischay Niyogi (stylist)
Lavanya Tripathi (actress)
Anup Rubense (music actor)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Raj Tarun (actor)
Vamsi Krishna (director)
Vijay Devarakonda (actor)
Sai Dharam Tej (actor)
Rana (actor)
Satish Vegesna (director)
Shriya Saran (actress)
Devi Sri Prasad (music director)
Sree Vishnu (actor)
Kruthika Jayakumar (actress)
Punarnavi (actress)
Ram Gopal Varma (director)
Vishal (actor)
Ram Charan (actor)
Saloni (actor)
Ram Charan (actor)
Poorna (actress)
Sivakarthikeyan (actor)
Nikhil (actor)
Nandita Swetha (actress)
Hebah Patel (actress)
Allari Naresh (actor)
Sumanth (actor)
Manjima Mohan (actress)
Karthi (actor)
Rajeevan (Art director)
Trisha (actress)
Kalyan Ram (actor)
Puri Jagannadh (director)
Jagapathi Babu (actor)
Prakash Raj (actor)
Priyamani (actress)
Ram (actor)
Raashi Khanna (actress)
Virinchi Varma (director)
Nani Majnu by Jeevi (actor)
Nani Majnu by Maya Nelluri (actor)
Nagarjuna (actor)
Kriti kharbanda (actress)
Srinivas Avasarala (actor)
Nara Rohit (actor)
NTR (actor)
Koratala Siva (director)
Allu Sirish (actor)
Venkatesh (actor)
Chandrasekhar Yeleti (director)
Vijay Devarakonda (actor)
Ramaraju (director)
Nani- Gentleman (actor)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Nithin (actor)
S Radha Krishna (China Babu) (producer)
Mahesh Babu (actor)
Suriya (actor)
Boyapati Srinu (director)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Manoj Manchu (actor)
Nandini Reddy (director)
Adivi Sesh (actor)
Satish Kasetty (director)
Bellamkonda Srinivas (actor)
Bheemaneni Srinivasa Rao (director)
Sharwanand (actor)
Nagarjuna (actor)
NTR (actor)
Merlapaka Gandhi (director)
Sravanthi Ravi Kishore (producer)
Sudheer Babu (actor)
Allari Naresh (actor)
Gopichand (actor)
Varun Tej (actor)
Sampath Nandi (director)
Nanditha (actress)
Nikhil (actor)
Anushka (actress)
R. Rathnavelu (cinematographer)
Swathi (actress)
Chinnababu (producer)
Raaja Kiran (director)
Naveen Chandra (actor)
Ohmkar (director)
Kalyan Ram (actor)
GV Prakash Kumar (actor)
Varun Tej (actor)
Sreenu Vaitla (director)
Ram Charan (actor)
Nani (actor)
Teja (director)
Vishnu Manchu (actor)
Deva Katta (director)
Maruthi (director)
Bunny Vasu (producer)
Ravi Teja (actor)
Mahesh Babu (actor)
Koratala Siva (director)
Mahesh Babu (actor)
Kalyan Koduri (music composer)
Allari Naresh (actor)
Anil Sunkara (producer)
Prabhas - Baahubali (actor)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Yogesh (director)
Srinivas Raga (director)
Lagadapati Sridhar (producer)
Sai Kiran Adiv
i (director)
Nara Rohit (actor)
Raj Madiraju (director)
Gopichand Malineni (director)
Sudheer Babu (actor)
Lakshmi Mancu (actress)
Ravi Babu (director & actor)
Nani (actor)
Pradeep Nandan (actor)
Nikhil - Surya Vs Surya (actor)
Havish (actor)
Madalasa Sharma (actress)
Varun Sandesh (actor)
Madhura Sreedhar (producer)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Nikitha Reddy (producer)
Suhir Ponncchamy (director)
Aadi (actor)
Rajesh Touchriver(director)
Dasari Narayana Rao (director)
Sai Dharam Tej (actor)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Allari Naresh (actor)
Sai Korrapati (producer)
Mahi V Raghav (director)
Ram Charan - GAV (actor)
Chiranjeevi- 2014 (actor)
Lagadapati Sreedhar (producer)
Aadi (actor)
Neelakanta (director)
VV Vinayak (director)
Venkatesh (actor)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Anil Jason Guduru (director)
Srinivas Avasarala (director/actor)
Prakash Raj (actor)
Nagarjuna (actor)
Gangaraju Gunnam (producer & director)
Aadi (actor)
Raja Sekhar (actor)
Allu Sirish (actor)
Sekhar Kammula (director)
Charmme (actress)
Sai Rajesh (director)
CV Kumar (producer)
Krishna Madhav (actor)
Tirthankar Das (producer, director, music director)
Raj Pippalla (director)
Raja Goutham (actor)
Nani (actor)
Vaani Kapoor (actress)
Veena Ghantasala (singer - dubbing artist)
Puri Jagannadh (director)
Ayodhya Kumar (director)
Sumanth (actor)
Sukumar (director)
Ram mohan (producer)
Melanie kannokada (actress)
Venkat (actor)
Sundeep kishan (actor)
Nagarjuna (actor)
Vishnu Manchu (actor)
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (director)
Lagadapati Sridhar Sirisha (producer)
Sesh Adivi (director)
Sai Kiran Adivi (producer)
Mohana Krishna Indraganti (Director)
Kalyani Koduri (music director)
Eesha (actress)
Sushanth (actor)
Kalyanram Om (actor)
Chandra Sekhar Yeleti (Director)
Gopichand (actor)
Ramaraju (Director)
Gopichand Malineni (Director)
Anil Sunkara (Director)
Allu Arjun (Actor)
Raj - DK (Director)
Ashok G (Director)
Nagarjuna (Actor)
Venkatesh (Actor)
Boyapati Sreenu (Director)
Sirish (Actor)
Nithin (Actor)
Nikhil (Actor)
Pratap Kolagatla (producer)
Govardhan Krishna (director)
Madhura Sreedhar (director)
KS Rama Rao (producer)
Lakshmi Manchu (actress)
Sunil (actor)
Vikram (Race/Manasara) (actor)
Nandini Reddy (director)
Prabhas (actor)
Koratala Siva (director)
Mahesh Babu (actor)
Bommarillu Bhaskar (director)
Sharwanand (actor)
Kajal Agarwal (actress)
Samantha (actress)
Gowtam Menon (director)
Rana Daggubati (actor)
Krish (director)
Praveen Sattaru (director)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Vishnu Manchu (actor)
Ravi Babu (director)
Sekhar Kammula (director)
Amala Akkineni (actress)
Ajay Bhuyan (director)
Nagarjuna (actor)
Allu Arjun (actor)
Trivikram (director)
Jr. SVR (actor)
Kranthi Madhav (actor)
Lakshmi Manchu (producer)
• Life is beautiful actors: Abhijeet | Sudhakar Komakula | Naveen | Vijay Devarakonda | Kaushik | Zara | Sriram
Sai Korrapati (producer)
Harish Shankar (director)
Sravanthi Ravi Kishore (producer)
SKN (producer)
Teja (director)
Sampath Nandi (director)
Manoj Manchu (actor)

Kiran Meegada (director)
Amala Paul (actress)
Siddharth (actor)
YVS Chowdary (producer)
Nagarjuna (actor)
Sesh Adivi (actor)
Prasad V Potluri (poducer)
Krishna Vamsi (director)
Seenu Vytla (director)
Rana (actor)
Dil Raju (producer)
KL Damodar Prasad (producer)
Veerabhadram (director)
Varun Sandesh (actor)
Sai Kumar (actor)
Praveen Sattaru (director)
Vishnu (actor)
Dil Raju (producer)
N Shankar (director)
Nandini Reddy (director)
Ravi Babu (director)
Kalyan Ram (actor)
Bharat Thankur (producer)
Saloni (actress)
SS Rajamouli (director)
Madhura Sreedhar (director)
Sundeep Kishan (actor)
Satya Tatineni (director)
Nani (actor)
Lakshmi Manchu (producer)
Manoj Manchu (actor)
Aditya Babu (actor)
Chandra Siddhartha (director)
Ram (actor)
Deva Katta (director)
Ruby Parihar (actress)
Anita Galler (actress)
Priya Anand (actress)
Shruti (actress)
Arun Singaraju (director)
Naga Chaitanya (actor)
Suman Pathuri (director)
Sekhar Kammula (director)
Richa Gangopadhyay (Actress)
Seenu Vytla (Director)
Krishna Vamsi (Director)
Srikanth (Actor)
Sravanthi Ravi Kishore (Producer)
Ram (Actor)
Chaitanya Dantuluri (Actor)
Chakri Toleti (Director)
Nara Rohith (Actor)
Senthil Kumar (Cinematographer)
Ram Gopal Varma (Director)
Anand Ranga (Director)
Marthand K Shankar (Director)
Siddharth (Actor)
Raj Pippalla (Director)
Nani (Actor)
Deva Katta (Director)
Raj & DK (Directors)
Surya (Actor)
Shraddha Das (Actress)
Mahesh Shankar (Music director)
Lakshmi Manchu (Actress)
Siddharth (Actor)
Sushant (Actor)
Sharwanand (Actor)
Jagapati Babu (Actor)
JD Chakri (Director)
Tamanna (Actress)
Kishore Kumar (Director)
Rahjul Nambiar (Visual Effects Supervisor)
Deepa Chander (Cosumes designer)
Anushka (Actress)
Hari Charan Prasad (Director)
Colors Swati (Actress)
P Ravi Shankar (Dubbing artist)
Anushka (Actress)
Sonia (Actress)
Usha (singer)
Anish Kuruvilla (Director)
Gowtam Menon (Director)
Genelia (Actress)
Kamal Kamaraju (Actor)
Kishore (Actor)
Harsha Reddy (Director n producer)
Bindu Madhavi (Actress)
Shweta Basu Prasad (Actress)
Dil Raju (Actor)
Santhi Chandra (Actor)
Teja (Director n producer)
Jeevi (Critic)
Lakshmikanth Chenna (Director)
Manoj Manchu (Actor)
Ajay Sastri (Director)
Sekhar Kmmula (Producer)
Ravi Krishna (Actor)
Sunitha (Playback singer)
VN Aditya (Diector & Producer)
Nallamalupu Bujji (Producer)
Uday Kiran (Actor)
Chandra Sekhar (Actor)
Raahul (Actor)
Dil Raju (Producer)
Gopichand (Actor)
Siva (Souryam director)
Venkatesh (Actor)
Mamata Mohandas (Actress)
Lakshmi Lahari (Actress)
Ramesh Varma (Director)
Samudra (Director)
Yogesh (Director)
Neha Thota (Child actress)
Srinivas Avasarala (Actor)
Uday Kiran (Actor)
Kanmani (Director)
Ram Gopal Varma (Director)
PG Vinda (Cinematographer)
Madan (Director)
Bhavana (Heroine)
Bhargava (Producer)
Hari Yelleti (Director)
Krishnudu (Actor)
Kishore Ganji (Producer)
Ram Mohan (Producer)
Salim Panda (Actor)
Surekha Vani (Actress)
Manjari Fadniz (Actress)
Vishal (Actor)
A Raja Sekhar (Director)
Sridevi (Actress)
Sayaji Shinde (Actor)
Viswa Tej (Actor)
Geetha Madhuri (Playback Singer)
Namitha (Actress)
Sneha Ullal (Actress)
Prem Kumar Patra (Producer)
GV Prakash (Music director)
Mohana Krishna Indraganti (Director)
Bharat (Child actor)
Malini Dasari (Cinematographer)
Rama Jogaiah Sastry (Lyricist)
Venkat (Hero)
Uday Kiran (Hero)
Sharwanand (Hero)
Ram (Hero)
Aditi Sharma (Heroine)
Nagur Babu (Mano) (Singer)
Sekhar Suri (Director)
Sindhu Menon (Heroine)
Vinu Thomas (Music director)
Nihal (Music director & Singer)
Nitin (Hero)
Smita (Pop singer)
Sonal Chauhan (Actress)
Raghu Kunche (Singer)
Udaya Bhanu (Anchor)
Meher Ramesh (Director)
Rao Ramesh (Actor)
Gopi Mohan (Writer)
Ajay Sastri (Director)
Vara Mullapudi (Director)
Bhumika Chawla (Actress)
Jagapati Babu (Actor)
Vijay C Kumar (Cinematographer)
Sekhar Kammula (Director)
 
Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Copyright 1999 - 2018 Idlebrain.com. All rights reserved