05 May 2022
Hyderabad
For someone whose debut film bows out in cinema halls in a day, cinematographer-turned-director Vidya Sagar Chinta is not feeling the nerves. He, in fact, is pretty confident and excited to showcase his labour of love, headlined by Vishwak Sen and Rukshar Dhillon, to the people. His confidence stems from the fact that he has a good product in hand. Born into a middle-class family in Vijayawada with parents employed with the railways, Vidya Sagar has grown on a staple diet of Telugu cinema, watching films frequently from a young age. “My parents used to take me to my choice of films as well. It was after my B. Pharmacy I told them about my cinematography plans. They were a little taken aback and initially said no. My elder brother convinced them to let me pursue my passion. I’ve completed Masters in Film Technology, with specialization in Cinematography from Ramanaidu Film School. Afterwards, I worked as a cinematographer on Vellipomake with Yakub Ali, who was from the film school direction batch. It got a release by Dil Raju. While it didn’t do well, it did help us project what we’ve learnt from the film school,” the director recalls in a conversation with idlebrain.
Sagar’s spark was noticed and he landed Niharika Konidela’s web series like Muddapappu Avakai and Nanna Koochi. For the latter, in addition to cinematography, he was the editor and did DI as well. “In fact, before Vellipomake I did a short film with Vishwak. He later offered me his directorial debut Falaknuma Das, which fetched a good name for me. The industry realized that I can do a good job with a budget film as well. Later more opportunities came my way. I shot Rajdooth, Raja Vaaru Rani Gaaru and Adbutham,” he reflects, adding that it was during the first lockdown, he began pursuing his other passion, which is writing. “Ravi Kiran Kola, the director of Raja Vaaru Rani Gaaru, was also into writing at that time. We are like brothers. We began to discuss a lot of ideas. One fine day, he mentioned the idea of Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam (AVAK). I liked it instantly and told him, if developed, it will shape out well. As lockdown restrictions were lifted one by one, Ravi met SVCC’s Sudheer and pitched the idea of AVAK. Sudheer liked it and wanted Ravi to helm it but as the latter had some other plans, he couldn’t take it up. When Sudheer wanted to know if someone from his team would take it up, Ravi mentioned my name. Ravi later briefed me about the meeting. I replied, saying that I really wanted to do it.”
Together, they cracked the structure of the story in one month. “Ravi is quick with writing skills; he is born to write. And when he writes, the characters come alive on paper. After locking the screenplay, we thought of some options to spearhead the film, while the producers suggested their options. But those options were not sitting well with me. One fine morning, Vishwak’s name crossed my mind. Films like HIT, where he played a mature cop, and Falaknuma Das, where I took a shot with him in moustache, made me think of him. I thought we could mould him into Arjun. Ravi was a bit shocked when I mentioned Vishwak’s name but when I explained my rationale behind it, he said ‘let’s go ahead’. The producers were okay with Vishwak. We performed a look test on him and results were extremely satisfactory,” Sagar explains.
Vishwak took his own time to hear the story, deferring the narration many times. “One day when I asked him if he’s really interested or not, he replied in the affirmative, saying that as he sprained his leg, he was unable to hear it. He later fixed a time and I and Ravi met him at his home for the narration. 10 minutes into it, I saw he was giggling. After the narration, he gifted us sweet boxes and said we are doing the film,” Sagar reveals warmly.
As the film completely unfolds in a village, Sagar was keen on shooting in a real village to lend authenticity to the film. He was keen on mandwa house, where majority of the action takes place. He made multiple trips to Godavari belt but to no avail. “When I finally found a house and even paid an advance amount to the owner, coronavirus struck again. One of the inmates of the house died due to Covid-19 and the owner later didn’t allot us the house. We were a crew of 100 including the cast, so we didn’t want to risk one of the members catching the virus and spreading it to the others whilst staying in a village and so, had to abort travelling to a village. It was the producers who suggested we shoot in a studio set up in Hyderabad. We made a beautiful house in Ramanaidu. Production designer Pravalya, with her skills, managed to bring the village ambience to the studio. So barring the bus travelling shots, the entire film was shot in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas. However, the film will transport the viewers into a real village,” he promises.
AVAK, he says, tells the story of a 33-year old Arjun who is desperate to wed because of parental and relative pressure. “He is unable to find alliances because the girls belonging to his caste are less in number. And then there is the problem of his profession—a small-time money lender— that thwarts his other options. “How he meets his soul mate and will he wed her or not forms the crux,” Sagar, a fan of filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino and SS Rajamouli, informs.
As he started making the film, Sagar understood how tough direction is. “Having done five films as a cinematographer, I thought I could pull off the project easily but I understood how difficult it can get after I started directing. A director has to have management skills, needs to be patient and absorb pressure from various quarters. While handling all these, he also needs to deliver a wonderful product without compromising on his creativity and not going over budget. In the process, I understood why a director is so revered,” he declares, while adding that he wants to build his career by balancing both cinematography and direction à la the venerated Balu Mahendra.
NAGARAJ GOUD
