An open letter to Teja

It looks like people writing to idlebrain.com are reacting more to Teja's comments in his interviews rather than his work. So, guys, relax and don't be so acerbic in your remarks.

Teja, you made a comment that critics watch a film like they solve a mathematical puzzle. This reminds me of a joke. Two friends - one a scientist and another an artist, see a rose in a garden. While the artist describes the beauty of the flower in glorious terms, the scientist plucks the flower, tears it apart and starts investigating. If we ask who did the right thing, we will not get a correct answer. Because, its all upto ones judgment. That's the difference between a critic and an ordinary cinegoer. They watch a film in their own perspective. We can blame neither of them. So, dear Teja, it is not desirable to say critics dont assess a film properly. There are a few directors like Mani Ratnam who please both the masses and the so called critics. It means, it IS possible to make such films.

Your films, as you claim, definitely have a soul. They have, what you call, emotion. Chitram is a very brave movie. Its not easy to make a film on teenage pregnancy/motherhood. It is not very prevalent in India, I guess, its a little ahead of its time as far as India is concerned. I dont mean it does not exist, but, neither is it a very serious social issue. One of the open letters described the "hot scene" as cheap. I say, that scene is brave. Anyone would be lying if he says he didnt enjoy watching it. And also, I am not sure it is spoiling young minds. Its high time we talk more openly about our inner feelings. At the same time, I should commend you on not making it vulgar. I guess if anyone watches EVVs films, they will get the meaning of what I mean by saying "vulgar". Chitram is a brilliant effort and the subject you discussed it very relevant. I guess, you can think of making a film on such otherwise untouched subjects.

I didn't have a chance to watch your next film Family Circus. I was told I was lucky.

Nuvvu Nenu had a brilliant first-half with great doses of comedy. In spite of the fact that the comedy is built around the teachers, in none of the scenes did I perceive disrespect to the teachers, as is the case with many other films. Dharmavarapu was stupendous especially the modulation in his dialogues. But a very mediocre second half. I think you came from a modest upbringing and its through a lot of toil that you came to this level (u are a crorepati after Jayam :-)) Yours is an inspiring story. But, unfortunately, I sense a lot of cynicism in your interviews. Supremely confident people are incredibly humble. And insecure people are cynical. Hope you get the difference. Its great to be have a lot of self-confidence, but, its important to retain a bit of humility as well. So, please do a little bit of self-introspection, relax a bit, and develop a more positive attitude towards the things you dont like. It makes your life better.

Why I am saying this is because this cynicism carries to your films as well. And the second half of Nuvvu Nenu had a lot of this. I guess, in any adverse situation, there will be a few positive things and, I believe, people who pull of crises into opportunities are those who make use of these positives. So, in your films, you can relax the mood of the audience with a little comedy even in very serious stages, without diluting the overall mood of the film. Take RamGopal Verma's films as an example. Like in Kshana Kshanam when Sridevi says towards the climax " Aa gun lo bullets levu" . Hope you got the message.

As of now, I didn't have a chance to watch Jayam. Once it comes to theatres in Bangalore, I will watch it. In a theatre - not in any pirated CDs :-). From the ads in Gemini TV, it looks a decent time pass film. And a couple of songs are very good. This feature called post-mortem has the wrong title, I guess. Post mortem is carried out when a person dies unnaturally. So, its not a very positive word. And, hence, it cannot be used to hit films. I guess, idlebrain can use this for box-office duds and not for hit films like Jayam.

While you say that critics prefer to tear apart a film into pieces and analyze, that's what you also did in this section called post-mortem. I think you can develop a more positive attitude towards critics. In any design, it is important to divide a large system into smaller sub-systems, analyze individually, and integrate it at the end. This is what we do in engineering and that's what critics do to films. It's a scientific method of analysis. Frankly, even I try to analyze a film as critics do. But, I never got it right. I keep wondering how a bad screenplay can spoil a great script. People mostly concentrate on the dialogues and not the surroundings. Then how can a film become a flop when there script/direction are good and the screenplay bad? Probably, I don't know what screenplay means.

And regarding the most controversial topic called piracy vis-a-vis NRIs. I guess, its not fair to blame NRIs for piracy. It happens even in India, even in AP. If NRIs watch films on CDs, it reflects their great love and passion for Telugu films and I am not sure anyone would have the time to know the origin of the CDs they watch. So, it's wholly upto the film and music industry to curb this problem of piracy. Of course, filmgoers are ready to cooperate. SO, please don't blame the NRI population for this issue of piracy. Telugu NRIs are better. They
Don't expect Telugu films to be like the horrible Hindi films, which have stories only about people living in London or USA. Our Telugu guys accept original Telugu films, even if they are made in a village in Srikakulam.

All the best, Teja! I hope to see a film from you, which satisfies masses, critics and also the NRIs :-)

Cheers,
A Telugu Film Fan.

turaga@lycos.com

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