61. Your films have the same kind of photography.
Ans: That’s my style.
62. You should use green tone blah blah blah…………………………….you should use blah blah blah……………… do not blah blah blah…………………………………. why don’t you blah blah blah……………………………………. I want you to blah blah blah……………………………..
Ans: I do what I want to do and I see what I want to see and I hear what I want to hear. If it’s a problem for you don’t watch my films.
63. Why don’t you let the sarcasm be and talk more about film making?
Ans: Will try.
64. I hope you will discuss your mistakes
Ans: that’s the main thing I want to do in here for the simple reason that you can learn from your mistakes and grow, provided that you truly realized the mistakes in your head.
65. Mine and my friend’s friendship started due to our common love for Kshana kshanam.
Ans: I feel very uncomfortable whenever anybody praises me for Kshana kshanam as I copied it mainly from the premises of three films called “Foul Play” “Romancing The Stone” and the third I can’t remember. In hindsight I feel I did a pretty bad job at it. The only freshness if there was any is my personal and professional obsession for Sridevi. I was zapped with her in Mr. India and I desired to present her better than that. There were a couple of things I will share with you on the making of that film. There is a scene of Venkatesh and Sridevi running in the forest chased by the cops, led by Ramireddy in which in one particular shot a monkey is busy nibbling on a tree hears a sound and sharply turns. The camera zooms back fom its close up and sharply pans to the left to catch Venkatesh and Sridevi running. Many people wondered how I took that shot. Heres how I did that.
We were shooting in Mudumalai forest and there were these monkies on the trees looking at the busy shooting crew when I got an idea. I placed Venkatesh and Sridevi at a certain place and gave them instructions what to do. I asked the cameraman to zoom in to the close up of a monkey and I told the crew to be completely silent and still. After a while since nothing was happening the monkey lost interest in us and resumed nibbling. Then on my cue the whole crew shouted at the same time in unision. The monkey got startled and sharply turned on that action the cameraman zoomed back and panned just in time to catch them both running and the shot was canned.
Another interesting episode was when Venkatesh and Sridevi were crossing a bridge Sridevi asks him “Why is there a bridge in the forest?” and he replied “how should I know?”
This is actually a conversation which happened between me and my assistant director. When I saw the bridge in that forest I found it visually very interesting and I conceived that scene keeping the bridge in mind. My assistant asked me but why should there be a suddenly a bridge in the forest? I replied how should I know but it is there, to which he said you and me know but how will the audience know it. So I said then let’s put it in the scene so what we spoke is what Venkatesh and Sridevi spoke.
I reasoned out with him that if we think the audience will question about something we should let one of the characters in the film also question about it which would then make it right. But the real reason is that I wanted that bridge scene anyhow.
Also one of my favorite examples of how you can create drama through editing is in the above mentioned chase in the forest.
I start from a mid close up of Venkatesh and Sridevi running towards the camera they look back to see if anyone is following them and as Sridevi turns back she looks at something on the ground screams and both fall from the frame we start wondering what has happened then I cut to see Ramireddy and cops looking around. We further wonder where they disappeared. Now we suddenly see both of them against a mud wall crouched. Now we know they are safe but still wonder what that falling from the frame was about. Then Sridevi sees something stifles a shout. Venkatesh reacts to that and reaches out towards the camera and I cut to a top angle to see Ramireddy in the foreground standing at the edge of a pit and a hand reaching out in the ditch to retrieve Sridevi’s floating handbag. The audiences then realize that they fell in a ditch in the first shot.
This is a classic case of manipulating the audiences mind with dramatic editing technique. If in the beginning itself when they drop out of the frame, if I showed them falling into the ditch the whole sequence will look very informative. But by revealing it bit by bit I was making the audiences imagination race.
66. I could recollect omen II listening to the tracks of Sarkar Raj.
Ans: Yes I copied it from there. I saw Omen II seven times in Vijaywada, Leela Mahal just to listen to the title track.
67. Is the scene of Sarkar borrowing money from Chandar from Godfather?
Ans: It’s a Maharashtrian tradition.
68. Its painful to read your blog with the black background
Ans: Am changing it.
69. Do you plan shot divisions?
Ans: No I do it instinctively on locations.
70. Between Sarkar and Sakrar Raj I liked Sarkar Raj better
Ans: Me too