21 September 2022
Hyderabad
In an exclusive conversation with idlebrian.com, debutant director Pradeep Varma spoke about the genesis of Alluri, why he is full of the joys of spring right now, his journey, the prep Sree Vishnu had done for the titular role and much more…
Debutant director Pradeep Varma has been living with Alluri, headlined by Sree Vishnu, for the past five years and with the film hours away from a big screen debut, he is “extremely happy today (Wednesday) because the final copy is ready”. “People who’ve watched the film today could connect to the emotion that I wrote five years ago. I got a big kick out of it. When I was nobody and had nothing, I told people about the kick that would come out if I do the film with Vishnu. No one believed me at that point and it was natural because up until then Vishnu played soft roles. People who saw him in Alluri are enthralled with his turn. They are singing hosannas about his performance. I believe it’s the greatest success,” the director exults. He spoke to us on Wednesday.
He exhibits no signs of nervousness as the D-Day nears. “I generally have a positive and confident outlook towards life. Regardless of the fact that I’ve got a chance to direct a little late in the day, I’m confident and I’ve been like this since childhood. Maybe it has something to do with my mother who comes across as a confident woman,” Pradeep declares.
Originally from Sakhinetipalli, Konaseema district, Pradeep began to study in Hyderabad from VII standard by staying with his uncle and aunt. He completed his engineering in Chennai and MBA from Hyderabad. After the latter, he tried sneaking into the industry but his plan went pear-shaped. Later, he took up a job in Bengaluru, visiting Hyderabad every month to land an assistant director gig. His journey in the industry started with MS Raju’s Tuneega Tuneega. “Soon after, I worked closely with Surender Reddy as an assistant writer. Before he began Dhruva, I was getting opportunities to make my directorial debut. He too advised me to branch out to direction, saying I’ve gained enough experience to helm a film. But then the opportunities I got couldn’t materialize into films despite the best efforts of some producers. Later, I worked with Sudheer Varma for Ranarangam,” he recalls.
He decided to become a filmmaker after X standard, with Tholiprema and Thammudu serving as major inspirations. “Some big names wanted to introduce me as a director but after a certain point of time I’ve realized that it’s a futile exercise for a first-time director to get launched with a big and successful hero. I felt it’s better to debut with an up-and-coming hero. Around this time, I watched Appatlo Okadundevadu and was blown away by Vishnu’s performance in it. It was through Sudheer Varma I got to meet Vishnu and pitch him Alluri,” Pradeep informs.
The actor was in for a shock when he heard the story of Alluri. “He told me, ‘Do you want to make this big a film with me? How can it be possible?’ I’ve replied, saying that it’s not about the film being big or small but the right emotional graph it possesses and whether you can emote the role or not. I was sure that Vishnu would ace the role. That’s how our journey began,” the director shares.
Realizing the potential Alluri script had, a leading producer evinced interest in it and was keen on shepherding it with an A-lister. In fact, Vishnu too was not averse to the idea of someone else fronting it and was ready to let go Pradeep. “Only after I understood the ground reality,” he states with a burst of laughter, “did I approach Vishnu. If I had to get it green-lit by an A-lister, it would’ve taken another five-six years. I’ve told the producer that A-listers would listen to the script because of him but they will not hand over the project to me.”
Like many, Pradeep also felt most cops are corrupt but his thought process changed after an encounter with a cop, triggering him to come up with the basic line of Alluri. “Due to a problem a friend of mine faced, I had to travel with an inspector for 15-20 days back in the day. During our first few days, I would get irritated on why he is not taking the problem seriously but after a week, I understood that cops are efficient but we just don’t understand them properly. The thing is that they are given multiple tasks and they have to attend to each one of them following a protocol. My opinion about them changed after this journey. I felt why not mirror reality as a film. I wanted to make sure the value of the police system— what they can do and why they can’t do certain things— is portrayed authentically. Over a period of time, the script got bigger with necessary commercial bells and whistles,” he reminisces.
He, however, is quick to add that many episodes of the film have been borrowed from real incidents and he presented them cinematically. According to him, the film traces the 18-year journey of a cop Alluri Sitarama Raju essayed by Vishnu. “Five-ten years into the job, cops understand how things happen and how to make them happen. During this phase, some of the decisions they take are rather unusual and we showed such happenings powerfully. While the first half will be in a regular commercial pattern, the second half will discuss how the system— from constable to a commissioner—operates. It will be something new to the viewers,” he maintains.
From the script stage, Vishnu understood the rigors of committing to the role, the director explains. “The initial episode where he plays a 25-year-old required him to cut a slim figure without a moustache. After he shaved the moustache, he was nervous for almost a week on how people would receive it. But once his pictures were endorsed by everyone, his confidence got a shot in the arm. The next episode’s prerequisite was that he looks a little heavy with biceps. He took a couple of months to build muscle but he couldn’t be heavy. After advice from a professional, who asked him to gorge on a specific type of food, while simultaneously sweating it out in the gym, he took a month to attain the desired look. The next episode, which sees him as a 35-year-old needed him to lose his heaviness but remain fit and agile. The climax where he will be seen as a 40-year-old needed him to look a little fat in addition to sporting strains of white hair with a beard. In total, he had to show four variations and he toiled hard to meet my vision for the project.”
Pradeep, who met many cops as a part of his research, didn’t give any reference as such to Vishnu for the titular role. “When I narrated the story, I spoke about a particular body language and Vishnu developed the character from it. On sets, we would discuss a lot on how to approach it and he would come up with his apprehensions, which I would clear. His greatest quality is that he blindly follows the director. As he was involved with the character from the script stage, it proved to be relatively easy for him to enact it,” the director, a fan of Mel Gibson’s body of work as a director, concludes.
-NAGARAJ GOUD
