Literature has been the backbone of regional cinema for many years. Even recently, films have used literature to convey a movie’s essence, both with referrals and adaptations. The recent film Srinivas Avasarala’s Jyo Achyutananda too relied heavily on Bucchi Babu’s Chivariki Migiledi . The title of the book on human relationships summarises what the director intends to convey in the film: ‘You’re only left with relationships at the end.’ The book becomes an object of emotion by the end of the film.
There have been others too in the recent past. Osmania University professor Y.B. Satyanarayana’s book My Father Baliah , shown briefly in Kabali was used by filmmaker Pa. Ranjith to hint at the Dalit undertone in the film. The book is seen right in Rajinikanth’s introductory shot, setting the context of the character clearly.
In some cases films have taken viewers back to the book. Most people who hadn’t known about writer Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani’s Meena took to reading it after Trivikram’s A..Aa released. Though Trivikram took every effort to modernise the film (which was inspired by the novel), it made young readers curious about what the original held.
Another film Campus Ampasayya released earlier this year was also an adaptation from the novel Ampasayya penned by Naveen.
In these cases, filmmakers relied on the books to tell their stories. While most of the books themselves were published some decades ago, they are back in focus now with discussions on social media . While young readers got hold of these books for the first time, others revisited them after many years.
Filmmaker and actor Mahesh Kathi adds that referring to books in films can substantially enhance the love for literature among viewers. “They leave us something to imagine. I think young filmmakers are aware of the dividends they may get by digging into literature. Telugu cinema has generally been very dependent on novels since the 1950s. Although the inflow of novel adaptations has been on and off, the trend is again catching up with filmmakers now. We have such sensitive, culturally aware works depicting social movements, its high time we make use of it,” he says. Clearly , there’s a treasure trove awaiting celluloid storytellers.
The films that have book references definitely make for a better viewing, if one has already read that book, points out Raja Satish, a film enthusiast. “Besides the book, reading a backgrounder of Malaysian Tamils while watching Kabali helped me appreciate the nuances of Pa.Ranjith’s making. Sometimes, the impact is better with referrals over adaptations, because a spectator realises the value of the book in a particular context. When it comes to crowds getting inspired by Telugu books (pointing to Jyo Achyutananda ), it’s sad that they can’t scout for the books online.” In any case, the renewed focus on books is more than welcome.
On the ‘Chivaraku Migiledi’ reference
Srinivas Avasarala, director of ‘Jyo Achyutananda’, says:
“The sequence in Jyo Achyutananda stemmed from a situation in real life, when I gave the book Story by Robert McKee to Rashi Khanna that had many notes underlined and was autographed by the author. But she later lost it and I realised the value I placed in it. That was recreated in an emotional context for Jyo Achyutananda . Chivaraku Migiledi book has an interesting passage of how the protagonist talks of the questions that life poses, that was quite relevant to my film. The other book I considered for the film was Amrutam Kurisina Ratri by Devarakonda Balagangadhara Thilak. The father of the brothers in the film, Ainapurapu Koteswar Rao was named after a character from the former. Even though there were French literature influences for Oohalu Gusagusalade , I made it the way a Telugu-speaking person would like it see it.”
