Director Boyapati Srinu is on his way back to Hyderabad after a customary visit to the Kanakadurga temple in Vijayawada before a film release. He is swarmed by people with selfie requests and filmmaker’s quite happy to oblige. He tells us, “How many of us are privileged to do that? That’s the beauty of cinema.” No wonder Boyapati says there’s no commercial pressure when he makes films, “I call the filmmaking process a pleasure, I want the audiences to sustain the belief they have in me. It is hard work, but it’s fulfilling,” he says. His focus is to make a good film regardless of its commercial backdrop.
Boyapati’s films are known for the quintessential masala element and their emotional pull, but with Jaya Janaki Nayaka , the auteur had set out to make a family entertainer. Unlike his earlier films that featured stars like Venkatesh, Balakrishna, Allu Arjun, Ravi Teja, he made this project with a two-film old actor (Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas). “He’s an actor whom I could mould according to my script’s needs. I clearly understand the capabilities of each actor I work with. I have given him a role with many variations, you’d be surprised to see his performance on screen. Every family would like to have a person like his character at home,” he assures.
It was Boyapati who gave actor Jagapathi Babu a big push as a baddie with Legend ; reuniting with him was an equally rewarding experience this time, his readiness to experiment as an actor proved to be of great help. “ Entha teeskunte antha osthundi . After a series of characters with softer shades, audiences were shocked to see what he could do in Legend ,” he says about Jagapati Babu. “Veteran actors like Balakrishna and Jagapathi Babu can do any role on a given day, it’s upto the filmmaker to make most of their abilities.”The challenge in Jaya Janaki Nayaka was to give equal credibility to a host of actors like Sarath Kumar, Vani Vishwanath, Nandu, Rakul Preet, Catherine Tresa, Pragya Jaiswal and Dhanya Balakrishna. “Big or small, I make sure my characters have an identity and impact the story. Some of them are like an early morning alarm, they might not be of use in the later half of the day, but they ensure a sound start to a morning. Audiences want something new when they watch a film. They want the frames to look fresh, that’s why we brought Vani Vishwanath on board. I can’t think of any other actor who could have fit that role.”
Boyapati came into films as a fan of NTR and a photographer by profession; he also manages his photo studio now. He has firmly stood by writer Ratnam for all his films, Boyapati fondly calls him ‘ guruvu garu ’. “Our sensibilities match a lot, even in aspects beyond films. There’s not a single aspect in cinema that I do without his suggestion.” Both of them are insistent on weaving aspects surrounding social responsibility in each of their films, he says Jaya Janaki Nayaka is no different.
Boyapati’s stint as a journalist continues to aid his writing skills and narrative abilities, though he didn’t take up the profession, choosing instead to be a filmmaker. “It’s a coincidence that everything’s coming together so well now.”
He’s definitely game to try more genres, “I have only done six films to date. There’s more to come. Whatever I do, emotion will be an integral ingredient in it.” He prefers to be tight-lipped about the three release clash this Friday, Boyapati says it’s something everyone had settled for and can’t do much about. “I have readied two scripts for Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi. You can expect an announcement on them in a month’s time.”
