HYDERABAD: Two and a half years back, none in the film industry knew who Virinchi Verma was. Even after his debut film Uyyala Jampala released, he shied away from publicity while the rest in the film hogged the limelight. The young man from Bheemavaram returns with his second film Majnu starring Nani and Anu Emmanuel. Ask him why he took such a long time to come up with a second script and he says, “I usually like to approach people only after the script has been written well. I did that with Uyyala Jamapala , and did the same with my second script too.”
He adds, “After a film becomes a box office success one will be in demand. At that point of time, I did not finish writing. The norm usually is to first tell the star or the producer the gist and later develop it. But I went to them with a bound script and they didn’t like it; besides the budget was big. So I kept that aside and worked on a new plot. I realised later that you first approach the stars with an idea and once they approve, then you go on to develop the script.”
Is it true that Rajamouli is doing a cameo in the movie? The director neither confirms nor denies Rajamouli’s presence in the story but is a little disappointed that Nani’s role as an assistant director in the film had been leaked. “It would have been nice if it didn’t come out. This screenplay is new..though the plot is regular and connects to all. It is about the ups and downs in love.” Virinchi Verma also worked as an assistant director with Madan for three films. He narrated the story of Uyyala Jampala to producer Ram Mohan who asked him to come up with some short film to convince him of his skill. He made Ninnati Vennela and then bagged Uyyala Jampala .
The director says Majnu is pure fiction.The crew released a teaser recently in which Nani buys a CD of melancholic Ilayalaraja numbers while travelling in a train. Virinchi observes, “It is a romantic comedy. Nani hasn’t done a total rom-com so far, Ashta Chemma had more fun but less romance. Here, as a lover you will find a lot of sincerity in his character, the story and the songs too.”
So do Majnus really exist in contemporary society? Isn’t his story outdated? The auteur laughs but agrees. “There is no Devdas or Majnu in today’s society. If jilted in love, they are crestfallen for a maximum of week and then they move on with their lives. They have other options, and get over the sorrow immediately, there is no pain. In this film, you will see the extent to which the hero goes on to profess his love. This too is a contemporary story but I used the assistant director concept for a reason. The story has been shot in Hyderabad, Bheemavaram, Medak, Araku and Goa.”
Virinchi’s inspiration to get into films was Ilayaraja. He loves music and is a voracious reader, indulging in Chalam, Gopichand and Tilak’s works. Finally, he says cinematographer Gnanshekar’s simple and aesthetic contribution to visuals is classy without distractions.
Speaking of the title Majnu which had been reserved by the producers of Premam initially, he says, “We thought it was an apt title but they had already taken it. Then after a while they discarded it and we took it up. I don’t think there will be any confusion now. I am confident and happy about the output.”
