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'Direction is my passion and my aim is to direct'
Madhura Sreedhar Reddy worked with well-known IT companies before becoming a full-time filmmaker. His passion for films compelled him to set up Madhura Entertainment Company (now Madhura Audio) and then try his hand at directing.
The self-taught filmmaker won critical acclaim for his first film Sneha Geetham, which was released last year. His next film, It's My Love Story, is hitting theatres on November 11. Well-known author Chetan Bhagat has been invited for the premiere of the film.
Madhura talks to Radhika Rajamani about how he came to be in the industry and what sort of films he is hoping to make.
You seem to be doing movies that focus on the issues of the youth. Why so?
I can relate to them. I can think of the elements related to youth like love, family etc. I can't think of action and comedy genres.
It's My Love Story, your second film, is also inspired by real-life incidents. How do such incidents motivate you to make films?
Honestly, direction is my passion and my aim is to direct. I like realistic stories, not over-dramatic ones. Inspiration comes from what we see, what we hear, the things we experience and the things we dream of. I'm very friendly, have a number of friends and take incidents from their lives too.
'There's more clarity about friendship, love among today's youth'
The film focuses on live-in relationships. Why make a film on this subject?
When I was working in Infosys, I saw this happen. One of my friend lived with a girl. They both behaved in a mature way and later they fell in love. So I took the idea from there.
The live-in relationship is only a part of the film. It's about whether the boy and girl, who separate after falling in love, meet again or not.
How are you looking at this issue?
About 15 or 20 twenty years ago, there was confusion among young people about friendship-love. Now they have clarity on this issue.
When the issue of marriage comes in, the family also enters the picture. How honestly they solve it is my story. In my film, the boy is from Warangal and the girl is from Vizag.
'I want to create my own brand'
You have relative newcomers acting in both films. Why do you prefer newcomers? Is it because you find it easy to shape them?
It's to shape myself. I want to create my own brand. The inspiration is Sekhar Kammula (who also works with relative newcomers) and Krish Jagarlamudi (for the storytelling). There's a comfort level, but also difficulties, working with newcomers. You have the creative freedom, though on the business side, it may be difficult.
How did you find Aravind Krishna and Nikhita Narayan?
I found them through a star hunt on Radio Mirchi.
Aravind Krishna had done a cameo in Alasyam Amrutham...
Yes. I needed a person with an urban look and he fitted it well. Nikhita is Miss India South, a Kannadiga settled in Hyderabad who speaks Telugu.
There are also senior artistes like Jayasudha and Sarath Babu in the film. One has to put in a lot of hard work if only juniors are around; if big artistes are there, it's a bit easier.
'It's a feel good story that a family can see together'
Is It's My Love Story a feel-good film?
It's a feel-good story which a family can see.
What do you want to convey through the film?
Honesty in love. Every character will be positive. Positivity will help you in life also.
Chetan Bhagat is said to be attending the premiere. Why did you invite him?
The hero and the heroine are shown with his book The 3 Mistakes of My Life. He saw it and tweeted about it. So I contacted him and he said he would come and also promote his book Revolution 2020 here. He is travelling to different cities for this.
'I have been interested in films since childhood'
Your first film Sneha Geetham fetched you critical acclaim...
I was happy. We didn't go into a loss. We got good satellite rights.
Have you decided about your next project?
I have three stories. Depending on how It's My Love Story fares, I'll decide which one to do.
You've been a techie. How did you get into films?
I have been interested in films from my childhood. I saw Abhilasha (with Chiranjeevi) when I was in Class VI. I was attracted to cinema but I didn't know what I would do. After I saw Ramgopal Varma's Shiva, I knew that I wanted to get into directing.
I studied mechanical engineering at REC Warangal and did and M Tech from IIT Madras. Then I worked for 13 years with Infosys, TCS and Wipro. I worked in Switzerland, USA and other places.
In order to be in films I needed to build film industry contacts. So I started Madhura Entertainment (renamed Madhura Audio) and got into music. I also run a Telugu film magazine called Cinestar.
In 2005 I felt I was financially well off and I could take the risk. I had to tell my parents and wife about my decision. Initially they didn't agree, but I convinced them. That is how I turned a full-time filmmaker. It's exciting.
The producer of It's My Love Story, MVK Reddy, is a doctor from Botswana. He saw my first film Sneha Geetham and wrote to me saying he wants to make movies like that. I've signed a three-film deal with him. It's My Love Story is the first.