9 October 2022
Hyderabad

Bursting on to the scene as a screenwriter in the late ‘90s, Trivikram Srinivas has come a long way. While his rapid ascent as a director doesn’t come as a surprise to people who noticed a spark in him early on in his career, it did, however, take time for him to realize his dream of ‘film direction’. Today marks him completing two decades in the showbiz as a director, as his maiden directorial, Nuvve Nuvve, featuring Tarun and Shriya Saran, opened in cinema halls on this day exactly 20 years ago.

Despite being a decent grosser, Nuvve Nuvve didn’t find a spot in the club of his writing credits like Chirunavvutho and Nuvvu Naaku Nachav—both of which besides being gangbusters have countless admirers for the emotional and philosophical thread they possess. Realizing that the writer dominated the director in his first film; he quickly made amends and dished out Athadu, which proved his competence both as a maker and a writer. Combining Hollywood standard technical aesthetics with local emotions, Trivikram, who has a great understanding of the cinema of the West, delivered a product that stood the test of time as it continues to find love even today as it is played on satellite channels and OTT platforms. A rare action-drama with a political touch to it, it was a whiff of fresh air for the industry which was choking under regular action potboilers that lacked the intelligence, sense of humour and the punch. The box-office status aside, it was a film that made A-list actors to sit up and take notice of his credentials as a pure maker. As a director, Trivikram, who was in the shadows of K Vijaya Bhaskar until then, has arrived!

He landed Jalsa next with Pawan Kalyan. It had his trademark flashes of brilliance both as a writer and maker. A couple of years later— uniting with his Athadu star Mahesh Babu— he came up with Khaleja, which many believe is his best work to date. Unleashing a hitherto unseen side of Mahesh, the film went on to offer a bagful of laughs, for it to only be not lapped up the people as they expected an action-packed commercial potboiler going by the promotional materials, causing its downfall. However, like with all his films, it aged like a fine wine, achieving cult status over time.

He got back to winning the box-office with Julayi and followed it up with Attarintiki Daaredhi, which went on to dethrone existing box-office records in spite of being leaked online days before its release. The vast success of the film meant that Pawan Kalyan’s box-office might was visible for everyone to see, while Trivikram bolstered his position as one of the top three directors. Average grosser S/0 Satyamurthy and super hit A.. Aa… ensued. Agnyaathavaasi with dear friend Pawan, however, was a blot on his career. With the film being a third collaboration between him and Pawan, the expectations on it were naturally sky high. But it had come a cropper after a great initial. It was probably the lowest point of his career as until then he was accorded with effusive adulation for his direction finesse. His reputation as a star director though remained intact.

While his brilliance has always been his writing depth and the humour that comes naturally with it, his ability to extract vivid and career-defining performances from his leading lights is a testament to his directorial skills. From Mahesh in Khaleja to Pawan in Attarintiki Daaredi to Nithiin in A.. Aa... to Allu Arjun in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, he managed to bring the best out of his actors while simultaneously presenting them in a completely new avatar. Another aspect of his direction that places him above his peers is his envision of action. From Athadu’s celebrated action sequence in the field to action blocks in Khaleja to the introductory fight of NTR in Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava to the climax fight in Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, his action has always been a touch creative while giving the sense of being real on screen. In the process, he has not just reinvented himself as a maker but also redefined himself. It is the reason why actors are ready to adjust their dates to join forces with him. His collaborations with Arjun have been memorable for many reasons, placing them in the cinematic firmament of great screen partnerships. Beginning with Julayi, they’ve done three films so far, with Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo being the last one. That film not only put Arjun in the top-tier stars league but also emerged as a major box-office smash, receiving encomiums from cutting across corners. Its success is probably the high water mark point of Trivikram’s popularity as it comes after ASVR, which helped him reinvent himself as a maker. While humour has been the mainstay of his films until then, with ASVR, he ditched it, and instead banked on the drama to do the trick and it paid rich dividends, giving him the confidence that he can do solemn dramas without lacing it with his signature humour.

While he has battled plagiarism charges continuously in his decorated career and faced criticism for playing it safe within the confines of family genre, one can’t deny the fact as a writer-director he raised the bar with each film of his and is continuing to do so. The new decade has begun on a great note for him with Ala…, and he is also testing new waters by floating a production house Fortune Four Cinemas. In between, he has also doled out tips to improve Bheeshma and Dj Tillu for better and penned the dialogues for Bheemla Nayak. With his next with superstar Mahesh Babu having gone on to the floors already, one only hopes that —given his enormous potential and the experience he gained— his talent transcends borders.

-NAGARAJ GOUD