Director Sanjana Reddy’s debut movie Raju Gadu releases on June 1. Days before the film hits the screens, she says she loved every minute on the sets. The M Sc Maths topper from Andhra University credits her family for supporting her decisions and waiting patiently to see her first film materialise.
Speaking of her background, she says, “I have an incredible family and I have never faced questions regarding academics or jobs. I chose an IT job and took a break after six months, and through a common friend joined a televisions channel. One day, I went to drop a friend at RGV’s movie sets and learnt there was a vacancy for an AD (assistant director); I filled in the position. I was surrounded by senior people and they said I can become a director provided I have a story and narrate it to someone. Since I have zero experience and I did not know what screenplay writing is all about, it took me five years to get a grip.”
Learning curve
While working as an AD with RGV, Sanjana noticed that there were none to explain the Telugu dialogues and scenes to the non-Telugu speaking heroines; she stepped in to utilise that opportunity. Ram Gopal Varma paid her well, which bolstered her confidence tp try and do something. She adds, “Someone in the industry pointed out that directors like VV Vinayak, Raghavendra Rao and Surender Reddy don’t write and only direct. So I derived hope from that example. I deducted the so called five years it would take for writing, and looked for a readymade story.”
She heard at least 30 stories and found that all of them were allusions to some big hero stories made in the past. Then she met Raj Tarun who was looking for a publicist and learnt that he had signed a three-film deal with AK Entertainments. “I got the idea of Raju Gadu and needed suggestions from an experienced director. Maruti looked like a perfect choice; he was busy but he helped me to a great extent.” Thereafter, Sanjana Reddy was given a bunch of writers to develop the story. She worked with RGV only for a week but even after that, she kept a keen watch on how things work on the sets.
For a year she observed Raj Tarun’s movies and his working style on the sets. But she realised that having a rapport with a hero and directing a film with him are completely different.
The process served as a learning experience. She quips, “I developed a lot of patience; earlier I had anger issues, now I’m calm. This is a successful project, even before the film wound up, we have done good business. So there is no financial pressure. The producer was already working with Raj Tarun for multiple movies; so we had to wait and that disturbed me initially. The little gap helped me in improving the project.”
Understanding kleptomania
The story focuses on kleptomania. The condition also stems from pressure, and not the affordability. Sanjana recollects, “I would flick flowers from neighbour’s home. It isn’t as if my garden did not bloom. I would even take lighters and shiny objects. I have heard about celebrities like stars and members of royal families pilfering or shoplifting. Most of us take away toiletries from a star hotel. After spending so much on the stay and food, why flick items worth ₹100 or ₹200?”
Having screened the film to a small gathering, she is happy with the positive vibes.
