Telugu Cinema, OTT & Storytelling | తెలుగు సినిమా ఎటు వెళ్తోంది? | Venkat Siddareddy | Navarasa

Telugu Cinema, OTT & Storytelling | తెలుగు సినిమా ఎటు వెళ్తోంది? | Venkat Siddareddy | Navarasa

Author Name:Gayatri Bhargavi Podcast

Youtube Channel Url:https://www.youtube.com/@GayatriBhargaviPodcast

Youtube Video URL:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHlW1jR4V1E



Transcript:
(00:00) Story or Star? The story. What is a story? A person who didn't even have a surname became the surname for a village and a family. Heroism or characterization? Characterization. Is good content dissolving? Actually, there are no directors in Telugu cinema right now, truth be told. They think of a hero and keep changing everything according to that hero.
(00:23) If his movie makes 400 crores, then the producers... Are you writing stories thinking the hero won't agree, or are heroes saying the stories aren't good? We are not watching even if good films are made; a situation has already arisen where there is anger towards the audience. Standardized roles for women have also decreased.
(00:43) It was always represented as just glamour. I am a theater person, but looking at the facts, OTT is doing well. Yes. People who said that boycotted me. In a situation where 500 covers one week of expenses. How do four people manage with 2000? So, how is it possible? On one side, your reputation is that you reject all stories. No one has actually made a film that I rejected so far. Hi Venkat garu.
(01:16) Hello there. Let's talk about movies and stories today. Sure. According to you, there is no movie without a story and no story without a movie; there is a strong interrelation between these two. Let's start the episode with some quick questions: Story or Star? Story, in my personal opinion. Theater or OTT? Theater.
(01:36) Long-form content or short-form content ? Medium-length movie. Movie, okay. Heroism or characterization? Characterization. Screenplay or direction? Screenplay. Books or movies? Movies. YouTube or...? YouTube. Series or movies? Series. Content or marketing? Content. City audience or rural audience? Rural.
(02:02) If you can appeal to them, the city audience will automatically like it. So, the rural audience must like it first. They must like it. They are the actual viewers. Perfect. Big budget or good script? A good script. Established actors or new faces? New faces, always. [ No speech] Better, yeah, because I always work in small budget and......
(02:25) medium-budgeted...... films, so... Poor people like us, what should we do? They don't understand. Should it release in theaters first or on OTT first? It must release in theaters first. Hmm. Yeah. Technology or talent? Talent, definitely. Talent in cinema. Yes, yes. A camera shouldn't do the action. Technology adds value, but technology itself cannot be the film.
(02:50) Hmm. Commercial success or critical analysis? Commercial success, definitely. Hmm. Because eventually, it is somebody else's money; it's not my money. Somebody else is putting in the money, so commercial success always gives more satisfaction, okay? Than critical acclamation. Okay.
(03:12) AI-assisted filmmaking or traditional filmmaking? Traditional filmmaking. You don't want AI assistance? As a software engineer? Yeah, but I think AI shouldn't be in filmmaking. Maybe in other things, it's okay. Aha. In the filmmaking process, see, CGI is anyway computer graphics, it is generated imagery; you aren't creating anything.
(03:37) Correct. Maybe AI could be used in that. But a person cannot be replaced. You can generate a person who doesn't exist now , but other than that, backgrounds, objects...... these things we are generating using computer graphics anyway. AI could be useful to do it at a lower cost or faster, but actually removing people or generating things with their voice—I can't accept that, actually.
(04:14) Writers 'freedom or producers' control? Writers always have the freedom because they can write whatever they want. It is actually the director's freedom; a writer can write anything, but a director needs freedom more than the producer's control. I see. To make what the writer has written. Written. But the problem we have here is that we are the writer-director and director-writer.
(04:38) There are no writers; writers as such are the biggest void. Void we have. Hmm, the absence. Yeah. The absence—tell me, are there even any pure writers left now? Hmm. Once, there used to be many writers. Hmm. There were dialogue writers, screenplay writers. Hmm. There were story writers. Maybe now, everyone who wants to be a writer wants to become a director.
(05:04) Because they’ve realized that if they can write, they can direct, because... Writing is different, directing is different. That distinction is gone; now in Malayalam, there are writers who only write, I mean, they just write. Of course, people who write and direct exist there too, but people who only write in Telugu—you can't, I mean, you can't even count them on your fingers; that's the problem.
(05:28) Hmm, fame or creative freedom? Creative freedom. Cinema as art, cinema as business. For me, cinema as art. Hmm. But for many, cinema is a business, so I have to see it as a business; in the end, if it's not recovering the money ... That same producer won't be able to make another film, so should there be a balance? It should be a balance, actually; you can't purely see cinema as art and say "I will do whatever I want"—well, okay, then do it with your own money.
(06:00) Ah. With other people's money, you have to try to get it back—you might not succeed, it's not entirely in our hands after the film is made—but at least our thought process should be that. That it will appeal to a certain amount of people whose ticket revenue will bring the money back. Hmm. That thought process should definitely be there for every director.
(06:28) Okay, if we consider up to 2015, there's a divide between pre-2015 films and post- 2015 films. Yes. What happened in Telugu cinema, what is that change? To put it briefly, you could say it's pre- 'Pelli Choopulu' and post- 'Pelli Choopulu'. Yes. Yeah, just like how there was a distinction before 'Shiva' and after ' Shiva'.
(06:49) Yes. After 'Shiva', the quality of filmmaking in our Telugu films definitely increased. Yes. The mindset. The mindset itself changed; because before that... We watched it on TV or somewhere on the big screen. Even if the image wasn't very clear. We listened to the audio, the voices of Krishna garu or NTR garu, so it was mostly us listening to films.
(07:16) It didn't have amazing visuals—of course, maybe Mani Ratnam and others might have tried a little back then, but... But it became a full visual medium only after RGV made 'Shiva'. Maybe Bapu garu and others did it before. But they had all these limitations, like having to shoot in studios. Bapu garu was the first to shoot outdoors for 'Sakshi'.
(07:40) Instead of just in a studio, I mean... We knew the house window was fake, the tree behind it was fake, and the moon behind that was fake. But their feeling was that what we see isn't that at all. ' Nandala Ramudu' was shot on a boat, right? Yes. But after RGV came, it is not just an aural experience alone, it’s a visual experience; even in the aural experience, it is not just the dialogue .
(08:06) Silence is also an experience. That’s what I like, what that is, so silence means not just loud music, that silence actually creates more impact than noise . So, calculating that there should be this much sound, this kind of visual, and this kind of lighting—RGV is the one who brought that awareness to us.
(08:29) Okay. So things changed drastically after that, although we should actually give some credit to Maruti garu for those days, and what he was doing then. In movies like Bus Stop and Prema Katha Chitram, for digital cinema, definitely ... His mark. His mark is visible. Certainly. But why can't we give more credit to Maruti is because if not Maruti, someone else would have done that.
(08:57) Because the technology was available. For that time. He didn't create the technology. So that is why. But he was the first person to prove that you can get a good quality product even on such a low budget; you don't need huge lights, that’s the problem, right? People who came into the industry around 2010 were afraid to enter a film set because there would be hundreds of people there , but all that wasn't actually needed.
(09:24) Maruti garu proved that four or five friends could take a small camera in a bag and four lights in a small suitcase and shoot a film. But we cannot call him a trendsetter like RGV or anything because... If it wasn't Maruti garu, someone else would have done it. Definitely. Okay. Because that technology was available at that time.
(09:44) But Tharun Bhascker... Sensibilities changed on a low budget; by that time, Pelli Choopulu must have been in '16, if I remember correctly. Around that time, in the period you mentioned, our lifestyle had changed a lot, like mobile phone usage, smart phones reaching everyone, and us booking everything online—life around us had changed.
(10:09) Hmm. But none of that was visible in the films. Hmm. Still, the cinema was just like how it was in the 2000s. Hmm. Tharun came with Pelli Choopulu, and the language they spoke and the behavior they displayed... The casting felt natural, and we didn't even know who they were. I mean, there was a fear until then that movies needed 'padding' artists.
(10:35) Yes. There is no padding. Hmm. Padding was a term used for satellite rights; even if you make a film with new people, you have to pad it with well-known artists to sell it. The terminology 'padding' came from the idea of "Oh, will they buy the satellite rights?" Tharun didn't care about any of that.
(10:54) The hero was new, the heroine was new, the music director was new, the cinematographer was new; everyone involved was new. And the way it is shot is different, the way the lights were used, everything is different. Very welcoming. Yes, and on that small budget, it was a phenomenal success. Success, it got a National Award.
(11:13) And its impact is whatever we see today . Correct. And still, was that technology available to everyone at that time? Yes , it was available to everyone. It is purely like how RGV had a vision, for Shiva, that this is not it, there is an experience that we can create. Everything, from dialogue delivery to the friends, it is always the hero who belittles his friends.
(11:39) Yes. In this, there are actually more friends who belittle the hero. Yes. Everything is different. Yes, it is good and natural. It is natural. So change the film language for Telugu. So, all lights are available, just one click on Amazon and it appears, so with all this, does good content get dissolved due to too much content? This will always exist, meaning clutter-breaking will always be there.
(12:09) Anyway, you will identify good content immediately, no matter how much you keep scrolling. Maybe many people might have become addicted. But they will stop at something. Yes. That one frame is enough. Hmm. That one frame for you to stop and watch, it could be a well-lit. Shot, it might be. Hmm. Or. It could be a music bit you hear in 30 seconds.
(12:38) There will be something to stop you, so good always stays; the idea that good content goes unrecognized is actually not true, it doesn't happen. Okay. If not today, then tomorrow; now, we made a film called "A Time Metro". Malladi Venkata Krishnamurthy garu's " Andamaina". It is a very favorite film. We wanted to make "Andamaina Jeevitam" in Telugu, but it didn't work out at that time, and since opportunities opened up in Hindi, we thought it was good and went ahead.
(13:05) But we didn't realize what a huge blunder it was to be in Hyderabad and make a Hindi film; we managed to film it since we were in Hyderabad, but marketing a Hindi film made here is a very difficult task. We didn't know that until after we made it. So it didn't get much recognition because it was very difficult for us to release it.
(13:25) But after it came on OTT. It was a big hit. A big hit; the biggest surprise was that we got so many messages where people said this film stopped them from committing suicide. That's what they messaged us. How many films can stop even one person's death? So what more do we need? That is very good, truly.
(13:51) So, that way, it took time, it took three years for that film to get the recognition it deserved. But it comes, definitely. Soon or later. Finally, our responsibility is only to make good content. It will definitely be recognized, and I challenge anyone on this. Show me a film which is very good but no one cared about.
(14:18) Such a film does not exist, actually. No, now after a story is done, they think of a hero, and they keep changing everything according to that hero. Why do they do that? Is it for the hero or for the story? What is the change that happens? No, sir, once a hero becomes that superstar. He is bound to do so.
(14:43) Because of his position. Yes. According to his positioning. According to his positioning. There is that respect. So there are some things they have to do. But there are some who defy that. Now take Mammootty, Mammootty is a superstar, right? Yes. He leaves all that aside and does a film like "Kaathal".
(15:01) Yes. He does a film like "Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam". It is small, it can even be done in three to four crores. Hmm. So that is an individual choice. But when a certain person, a star, has received certain recognition and has reached a certain position, a market depends on them. If their film makes 400 crores, the producers and those working on it—an entire ecosystem stays alive.
(15:33) The theaters get filled, and the theaters keep running. So, when such a responsibility is on them, people have expectations about them, thinking that audiences will only come if all these elements are present. So, do they make changes to the script to ensure all those things are included ? Definitely.
(15:50) They have to. They have to. Or, someone like Mammootty says, "Don't do business on me."" I will do the films I like." Hmm. So, he is a legend. We cannot expect everyone to do that. So now, since we believe the content— the story—is the hero, when a story needs to be presented in a certain way, for example, taking big heroes again, people like Chiranjeevi or Venkatesh also acted in films like those of Vishwanath garu.
(16:24) Yes. At the same time, they also did commercial films. Yes. Now, that change is not as visible. Do you feel that? Is that visible to you? Name a director like Bapu garu, or like Vishwanath garu, or K. Balachander garu. Show me such a director. Okay. When such a director is there, they will come, right? I mean, there is always this conflict.
(16:48) Are stories not being written because heroes won't agree, or are heroes saying the stories aren't good? That conflict is always there. Definitely, but at that time, no actor would say no if K. Vishwanath garu asked them. Because of the strong backup he has built. Yes. Through his films, right? Yes. Through his filmography, he was in a position where whoever he asked couldn't say no.
(17:11) Yes. Even someone like Kamal Haasan would have to do it. Yes. Because of that confidence. He made commercially successful films, and at the same time, they were all critically acclaimed as well. Art films. There are only a few such directors now in this generation. As you mentioned earlier, only a few people are trying.
(17:32) Now, Tarun is trying like that, Venkatesh Maha is trying like that. Maybe now, like Raja Varu Rani Garu or Ravikiran Kola, maybe some will reach that position. Where they will think, "If I have to act in this director's film, I shouldn't ask anything."" I must do exactly as they say." Hmm. Heroes will reach that position, too.
(17:57) Yeah, that also happened. Yeah, Anurag Kashyap achieved that kind of status at one point in time. Exactly. So, there are no directors like that in Telugu right now, to be honest. Okay. Now, if Anil Ravipudi is making his films, an "Anil Ravipudi film" has a... It is what it is. They do whatever he says; no one goes and asks for changes, right? That’s right.
(18:17) Anil Ravipudi’s films. Yes. So, to define it like that, if you want a critically acclaimed film as you were saying... Correct. We don't have those critical directors at the moment. Most films coming out now, if you look, while showing the hero as more than a superman—a superhuman—is one thing, the standardized roles for women have also decreased.
(18:42) Earlier, there used to be an aunt, a sister-in-law, a younger sister, and so on. Thank God, recently a film by Nandini Reddy came out, and because of that, there were many women, and women took the film forward. And yes, there are other films, if you look at cinema, there are films made specifically for women, for mothers.
(19:02) But they are few. Much fewer than the bigger picture. Correct, correct. Why do you think this happened, this change in commercial cinema? This has been around since the beginning; even back then, the representation of the heroine was always as glamour, only in very few films. Maybe in some of Dasari Narayana Rao garu's films, or Viswanath garu's or Bapu garu's films.
(19:28) Commercial cinema was always like that only. Unless the story required a strong female protagonist. Otherwise, they were just used for glamour or to drive the hero's romantic interest. Such films were more common; that's why this question was asked, as we are now admiring Malayalam films so much and watching them on OTT, and even Tamil ones.
(19:50) Among these, if we watch more Malayalam than even Tamil. The priority is that in those, women and men all have some role to play. Yes. That is what is great about them. Correct, when it comes to us, the logistics are changing. Let's think about who to blame for this , and let's see the reason behind it too.
(20:10) What is the reason? The reason is very simple: Malayalam cinema and Malayalam audiences are very , very educated and evolved audiences. Hmm. Take two recent examples like ' Sangeetham' or Hmm. ' Rao Bahadur', which tried to say something new, our people didn't like them. Hmm. If these two had been Malayalam films, I can 100%say that the world would have celebrated these two films.
(20:44) Our taste, the taste of Telugu people, is somehow very, very different. Is that so? Yeah. We like cinema, we encourage cinema. But still, when it comes to artistic films, our audience is still stumbling a bit. Are you saying we won't go to the theater, we'll watch it at home? The audience has that problem. Hmm.
(21:07) So it becomes difficult to take risks. For filmmakers. That is the risk factor. Yeah, another thing is the ecosystem in Malayalam is such that they are able to make good films on very low budgets. Hmm. So one solution—I mean, this is a problem, right? Is there a solution? For example, 'Rao Bahadur' or the two examples we had this year that were a bit experimental; not just that, there was a film called 'Chidambaram' too, actually I liked that very much. Hmm.
(21:36) In fact, for the film 'Chidambaram', they went to Kerala. Telugu filmmakers, young filmmakers, even decided to make the film in Malayalam. Because they thought that at least if it comes as a Malayalam film, our people will like it. I mean, the mindset of filmmakers has changed like that. Ah. In fact, one Telugu producer and one director wrote a horror comedy, and Hmm.
(21:58) thinking that it would be better to make it in Malayalam rather than here, 'Maharaja Hostel' was released last month. Hmm, our own Telugu people made it. Their thought—it is not an exaggeration. Filmmakers are already thinking. They are facing that dilemma as well. In another language. A situation has already arisen where they feel that if it’s in another language it would be better, and there is a bit of anger towards the audience for not watching when we make a good film; actually, I told you two examples
(22:29) from this year. Sri Chidambaram, a filmmaker who got so frustrated, went and tried to make it in Malayalam. There is another Telugu producer and director of 'Hostel'— they don't know anyone in Malayalam. This is the second film, that is the second example. There is a third example. Hmm. Where this guy, who used to work with the Telangana government—I forgot that boy's name.
(22:54) Hmm. He went and made a Malayalam movie. Hmm. He contacted me just the other day. I asked, "You don't know Malayalam, you don't know anything, how?" Apparently, when he was working with the government here and doing government ads, he got an opportunity to do an ad in Malayalam . So, while being there, what he realized is that the ecosystem is so friendly and so easy that even without knowing a single word of Malayalam, he was able to go and make a movie in Malayalam.
(23:22) Wow. I am telling you three examples that happened this year. So, it's almost 1% of our...Filmmakers are already thinking that it's a waste to make films in Telugu; three people have already implemented that thought process. Are we evolving? Obviously. So, it is...I... I mean, it's not that there are no storytellers; there are people writing stories.
(23:47) But making them has become a challenge. Because a big complaint is that our audience is not watching. Going to the theater and watching has decreased, but if it releases on OTT, it's getting huge apps. Yeah. That too has decreased a lot. And just some time back I told that OTT is the next big thing because...
(24:05) That is how it's going to be—I mean, people criticized me. They asked, "What are you saying, theater is theater." I am a theater lover; I like watching it there because there are no distractions, only concentration. That aura is different, that vibration is different. I am a theater person, but if you look at the facts, OTT is doing well.
(24:24) Yes, those people who said that boycotted me. But now, that is a fact. Very true. Right? Why do you think...why is this happening? I mean... Is it time or is it value for money? No, no, not just value for money. There is value for money, because it's too expensive to go and watch a film in a theater.
(24:44) That pain is understandable. Because we can't go to the theater without spending ₹ 500. Yes. Still. A good amount of money for a small family. Yes, yes, yes. In a situation where ₹ 500 could cover one week of expenses. If it's ₹ 2,000 for four people, how is it possible? So they will only spend that ₹ 2,000 maybe once in a month or once in a quarter.
(25:15) So for that, he will select his favorite hero or his kids 'favorite Spider-Man. Yeah. Or a movie by Anil Ravipudi that makes them laugh a lot. Hmm. Like that, they will select what they want to. They have become choosy. Whereas in my college days, or even until the 2010s. If there was nothing to do, I'd just think, let's go watch a movie.
(25:41) That's gone, that concept is not there, and I have watched some movies 30 or 40 times. Hmm. That doesn't exist anymore; finding people who watch a second time is more ... Very, very rare actually. Very rare. Yeah. On one side we are seeing that many influencers and new actors are coming forward with new films.
(26:04) But how many are really able to stand their ground here has become a big challenge again. On one hand, we are welcoming new actors; they are good, they performed well, and they are very aspiring, young , and exuberant, but what happens next has become a question. Because every movie is asking for new actors. Okay, while that is one side of the angle, on the other side, these professional actors who have been here for a long time are now facing a challenge because those who believed this was their bread and butter are
(26:32) left with nothing. They are told to take whatever comes, or else new people are coming in for less, and some are even saying they will work for free. Correct. In this influencer market, how do we balance this? I mean, is the acting important, or the money, or the career? How should an actor look at this? Even if there are associations and actors' guilds, it is still always a freelance job, isn't it? It's not like a career where we join a company and expect a paycheck every month.
(27:16) A director or producer chooses someone based on whether they fit the role first. Yes. Secondly, when there are four or five people who fit the role. They will see who is coming for the lowest price or who will bring more people to the theaters. So today, my interest will mainly be that previously, for movie publicity, we used to put up posters, then run trailers on TV, then maybe do something on Radio Mirchi or satellite, or put up hoardings.
(27:49) Now all those things are gone. To know if a movie exists or not, social media has become more important than all of those. So, while promoting it, if I pick someone with a large following, the movie will reach through them. That it reaches more people has become the main criterion.
(28:10) Because we have to spend as much money on publicity as we spent on making the movie, right? So definitely, what they are looking at is an easy way, which is if they are already an influencer, the movie will move forward through them, that is a certain trend. That trend exists. Every small movie and even big movie productions have that, actually.
(28:35) So, since this is a changing trend, how do we become influencers? I mean, there is nothing wrong with that, right? So... Not at all. So, when we are actors, how we increase our own influence, our social media influence, is very important. Correct. In that process, we will only improve ourselves. Because we are creating content, we might try new things, and we might improve creatively. Hm.
(29:03) And in your free time, you are creating a lot of other content which otherwise you would never do. Correct. Without all this, we would just sit at home idle, going only when they call us , and if not, we wouldn't. Correct. So now, whatever you are doing is only to build your portfolio, right? Correct.
(29:22) So yes. Passion. Yes, one is obviously. The obsession is there. Correct, but still, this adds an additional aspect to you, right? So the way people look at you also changes. Hm. They might not have seen you in such roles before. Yes. So in that way, it helps. So there is no single solution, meaning we can't set a rule like 50%influence and 50%normal.
(29:52) I mean, it exists now, right? Yes. The light men. I am asking career-wise. For example, new people come and leave, they don't even appear in the next movie. In such a case, do you think there are choices to take this as a career? Currently, that is a big question everyone is having, because they come like this and leave like this.
(30:14) I mean, those who have that seriousness will have to...it's a struggle. You don't know anyone, any actors right now? Because ever since I became an anchor, I have been telling people there should be a Career B along with Career A. That's why I studied. People keep asking me, "Why did you study so much?" Because that will help you when this is not there.
(30:35) I did my M.Phil and I am teaching. Teaching wherever my husband goes, it helps me, it helps me learn. Especially in corporates. Plus, when there is nothing, I don't waste my time. When work comes, I do what I like and what I love. In this crowded environment, you definitely need a backup plan. Right? Because you will never know if you will ever be successful.
(31:02) That is the biggest problem. Isn't it? We don't even know if we are successful , how long we will be successful, because there is no guarantee. We don't know how long we will last; after three years, no one might call us . I know some people like that. They don't even know why they aren't being called. For whatever reason.
(31:21) Yeah. It could be acting, it could be writing . Some of the best performers. Yeah. They say, "I didn't have luck, that's why it didn't happen for me." You never know. I really... So, that's why we must have a backup plan. Right? You need to have a talent B and a plan B. Compulsory. To enter this field.
(31:42) To enter this field. What is your plan B for this? " What if this doesn't work out?" I see many people saying, "Sir, it's my blood , it's my life, my passion, my dream." That's correct, but what if these things don't happen? You reach 35, 40, 50, and you still haven't become the actor or cinematographer you wanted to be, or the writer you wanted to be, or the director you wanted to be.
(32:13) Then, what will you do? So, art is something; it is a full-time career. But unless you find your grounding or footing, you have to do something else. There is no other way. At what cost, you ask? That. Right. So, many people in the film field say, "I left everything and came here." I meet at least one person in almost every shoot who says, "It's do or die, I won't go home.
(32:43) " They either choose other career paths and do something else, or they stay there, suffer, and feel sad that they couldn't make it. So, to all those people, to the newcomers, what do you want to say? Have a career plan B. Yes, there should be. Compulsorily. We also call it Plan B, yes you are doing this but you should do something else in parallel.
(33:03) You should do it on the side. On the side, meaning if this fails, it's not your failure. Plan. Both simulta- I'm saying you can do both simultaneously because that will also get you the regular income you won't get in the arts field. In arts. This is not usually there; for an assistant director, work is there only when the film is on, the rest of the days he has to be idle.
(33:27) Correct, correct. But in the meanwhile, what is that skill you have developed, how does it fill the gaps for you. That is very important. Everyone says one-liners, they tell one line saying this is the actual story line. But when it comes to the story, it actually dissolves. Is it because of the writer, is it the screenplay, where is the problem? Due to not knowing, due to not knowing what a story is.
(33:56) I listen to a minimum of 30 stories a month. Oh wow. Some months I even listen to 50. Whether I listen or read, at least 30 to 50 people approach me every month. Hm. With their stories, meaning overall in a year it's at least 500. There will be. So among those, I say at least 450 stories are not even stories.
(34:21) Um. Put good story aside for later. I'm not even calling them good or bad. It's not even a story, they actually write without even knowing what a story is. What is a story? What is a story? What is a story? Now, I came here in the morning, first I went to the 11th floor. Not there, I came to the 7th floor.
(34:43) Ah, you said 7th floor, I came to the 7th floor, I spoke with you. Then I had lunch. I spoke to you again and left. Mm. Where is the story in this, tell me? Context. Is there a story in this? There is context. There is a subject in this, meaning I can write an essay about what I did from when I woke up in the morning.
(35:00) From when I woke up until I reached home again, I could write an essay, but when does this become a story? That elevator stopped in the middle, what did you do then? Now. Or, I am coming, while coming. Something happened in the middle. There was an accident in the middle. Or the car stopped. Or I came.
(35:17) I got stuck in the elevator. My phone has no signal. So then there is a story because a person has to reach or has to get something. And he is not able to get there. If that is the journey, or a person is in love with somebody and is not able to get that girl. A person wants to get an MBBS degree. But he is not able to get it; why not able to get it, there could be physical obstacles in the middle, we ourselves could be an obstacle, or there is an external villain, thus, if hurdles happen and he overcomes them all and
(35:54) reaches the end or not, whether it's the Ramayana or Mahabharata, anything is a story. Correct. So now this is a story, now let's take the movie Pushpa, what is Pushpa, a guy who is in deep poverty. He gets an opportunity to earn a lot of money. He climbs one step at a time, and in that process, he loses some people, even his own, but.
(36:19) He grows up to be a wealthy man, that is the story of Pushpa. This, if we think about it, is not an essay, right? Yes. Because in that, he has many He has lots of obstacles, he has to overcome all of them and move forward. But when does it become a good story? When that story discusses something related to humans, our humanity, or our society.
(36:45) Human emotions. A human emotion. Even though the movie Pushpa is a story about a person rising from deep poverty to becoming very wealthy, I asked many people who are trying to become writers what the story is fundamentally about. It is about identity. Identity. A person who didn't even have a surname became a surname for a village and a family. Hmm.
(37:17) " Nothing to everything" is correct for you. But for what? For an identity. Um. He wasn't even allowed to have a surname. Identity crisis. So, it's about a person who earned his identity. So then, it is not just a story of a poor man becoming rich. The reason that story was told was to show how great our identity is.
(37:47) How great an identity is for a person. Hmm. Because they showed that, it connected globally. Hmm. Nobody likes a story just about someone doing smuggling, earning money, and becoming rich; there are many such stories. Hmm. But in this story, when Sukumar dealt with identity, It became a great film. Which connected with everybody.
(38:16) So, there is a subject, and to tell that subject as a story, there is a conflict. To make that story a good one, there is a theme. Hmm. Even those who don't know the difference between these three try to write. Hmm. It's not a mistake; they will learn and they will fail. So, the reason I reject 99%of the stories that come to me is that, first of all, it's not even a story. Hmm.
(38:39) Secondly, even if it is a story, it is not a good one because it isn't telling anything. Now, take the movie "C/o Kancharapalem". Many might not be able to say what "C/o Kancharapalem" is about. Um. Since I am in this profession, I know a few things because of vast knowledge. Hmm. A Hindu loves a girl and asks God for his love, but God doesn't help, and in that process, he loses his father.
(39:10) Then, when that boy grows up and loves a Christian girl, He faces injustice there, And when he grows up and loves a Muslim girl, That Muslim girl passes away, Hmm. And not only does he not get his love, Hmm. Finally, when he is much older, it wasn't any god, but the people of the village who made sure he got the girl he loved. Um.
(39:39) So, in his view, for these gods—no matter the religion— " They didn't help me, humans are my gods because only humans helped me," he said this dialogue at the temple before all this happened. Hmm. You might not have understood that theme while watching the movie. Ha. But essentially, it is about that.
(40:02) You understand it; your subconscious understands it. Without that, instead of putting Hindu, Muslim, and Christian , he could have just used three random girls. He could have. But that wasn't what he wanted to say, right? He wanted to say that humans are more important than God. Service to humanity is service to God.
(40:23) So that is what he wanted to say; that is why he covered three religions, and after failing in all three, in the fourth instance, the people became gods and helped him. It's a beautiful film. So now, regarding this story, that's what I'm saying: a guy loves a girl and it doesn't work out, loves a second girl and it doesn't work out, three girls, and finally loves a fourth girl and finds her when he's old.
(40:45) Isn't that the same story? That's the story of Care of Kancharapalem, right? But it only becomes a good story when you establish the theme. Hmm. So, first there must be a conflict, and for that conflict, there must be a proper theme. Um. Then it becomes a good story. You have made films. By making real-life films like Mallesham, Even after getting such huge national recognition, it’s becoming difficult to get people into theaters.
(41:13) Yes. Why are we making good films? You have done it. The reason is that this conflict has always been there in movies; because we invest money, there are good actors, the story is good, yet people are not coming to watch them. See, there are two things. Firstly, I wouldn't call it a 100%perfect film.
(41:33) Hmm. The reason the audience forgives some parts of it is because it is a brilliant real-life story. Correct. No matter how we shoot it, the audience will connect with that story. Um. But the aesthetics it required, the climax it needed, I don't think we did it right in my view. I always argue that even so, it could have been shot much better.
(41:59) Uh. But given the resources we had, that’s all I could achieve. Hmm. That's first. So, it's not—I mean, I can give it 60%marks. Hmm. Not for the story, but for the filmmaking. So that's why it achieved only that much. Secondly, our audience, again. Um. Now, Care of Kancharapalem would be in the top 10 or top 20 Telugu films today .
(42:27) It wasn't such a big success back then, but if that film came out today, Would it have done 10 times the business compared to back then? Today, it's a much more evolved audience. Audience. You mean, even small films... They don't count anything, they don't look at who is in it, if it's just good , there is a situation where they go and watch it.
(42:47) So in that way, it's a very good path. This conflict is always there—one is a good story, And good technology and equipment to showcase it. Yes. It always feels like a challenge. Everyone struggles with where to negotiate money and with whom to negotiate. Yes. I also feel there's a problem where that good story doesn't come out right because it gets compromised somewhere.
(43:11) Do you agree? Definitely. Now, take Pelli Choopulu or Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi. Those were all made on very low budgets , but you won't feel anything lacking in the aesthetic values. Um. You have a recent one—actually, we are releasing a film this Friday called Aameer Lok. It's a film made on a very low budget, but aesthetically, you won't find it lacking.
(43:38) Hmm. Natural, extremely natural performances , and a very terrific soundtrack. Um. But I don't know if the audience will like it or not. Um. So that depends on the creator or the director. Budget is actually not a constraint at all. These are days where we have the capacity to shoot very well on the smallest of the small budgets.
(44:00) Um. Now, look, there are four lights here; we could shoot a film with these lights too, right? Yes. And they are things we can buy as well. Once upon a time, the moment one said " lights,"... Whether it's Tahir or someone else, going for rentals or needing a lightman to carry gear is not necessary now; we can do this with just two kids.
(44:23) But what we can do with this is again a creator's choice, a creator's ability. Hmm. With small—I've seen some photographs —just by putting a comb to a light... ... you can bring out a very, very dramatic effect. Um. Just with DIY (Do It Yourself) hacks, even with this light, you can create magic. Correct, correct.
(44:50) So it depends on our ability. Um. So that is purely—if everyone could do it, then how would it be great work? Correct. There will be very few people who will be able to achieve that. On one side, the reputation you have is that you reject everything and don't accept stories properly...... and on the other side, you have a record of giving life to many good artists.
(45:17) In your record. So, you already mentioned stories and good artists—again, the same conflict . Their performance might be good for a few films, but when it comes to the next film, the character changes, the art changes, and the nuance changes; they must be able to mold themselves accordingly. Definitely.
(45:39) In*Mallesham*, deciding to take Darshi as the hero was a bold decision. Because back then, we didn't even know if Darshi had a market as a hero. He was doing...... films like the hero's friend or character roles. When we cast Darshi, it was definitely a risk. But it paid off for him and for us as well.
(46:02) Because he lived the character so well that no one else could have done it. Jhansi garu and his combination worked out so well. Jhansi garu and that girl also performed so well. Ananya, for one. Everyone performed well. Actually, sometimes the sadness is about what*Mallesham*did for the industry. Today, if you go and look at any Telangana film, I mean any Telangana film......
(46:27) they would have started their journey with*Mallesham*. Look at everyone in*Balagam*, look at those in*Dorasani*, and now there is a film coming tomorrow called*Crazy Kalyanam*. Look at the people in that, every actor is from somewhere—even the film*Pallaburusu*that came out recently...... the actors in it, they would have all
(46:48) started with...* Mallesham*. * Mallesham*, including Jagadeesh in* Pushpa*. Many people—not many, everyone. It is also the first Telangana film after the formation of Telangana. In that way, it somehow didn't get the recognition it deserved; maybe we were a little ahead of our time. So, in that way, every time we tried, I always looked for the genuineness—the genuineness I felt—because again, it is a subjective choice.
(47:20) But if I reject something, there is a reason for it, because if it doesn't fit into the template or framework I have set, I would definitely have rejected it. Okay. What I mean is, any film that I have rejected...... I don't even know if they made it at all, actually, until now. The films I rejected, no one has even made them yet.
(47:40) Rejecting a story... A film rejected as a story... Setting aside films rejected as stories ...... there are many that people have produced with their own money. There are such films, yes. As far as I know, if you go to every big production house, there are plenty lying inside; they never came out. They won't see the light of day, as they say .
(47:58) It’s very painful and heart-wrenching to see some people say they collected one crore from everyone to make a film, while others say they invested 50 lakhs . Many are doing this now, so what would you like to say to these young directors, writers, and so-called people who want to make their mark in cinema? I mean, what definitely happened during the Corona period was...
(48:20) There was definitely a demand. Because for two to three years, content was... Definitely needed. Yes. Content was king. And since more platforms emerged, they all needed content to feed their platforms. Correct. But now, there is an overload of content. They don’t need any more content. Hmm. Now, just one film per week is enough.
(48:45) Right now, even on Amazon Prime, we don't really have that much time. Yes. Can we really watch one film a week on Amazon Prime? Because there is Prime, there is Netflix, there is Hotstar, there is Jio, there is... Even if we watch one on each, our weekend won’t be enough. Yes. So, we can only watch one or two across all of them.
(49:03) Hmm. So, even if every platform releases one film every Friday... Hmm. There is enough content for one week for those who have subscriptions to all platforms. So, at most, Netflix can release 52 films. Um. Suppose, how many languages are there in India? Hmm. There is Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, and also Gujarati; surely each of them can't make more than seven to eight films, right? Yes.
(49:35) In that, Hindi takes up the most; 20 films will come from Hindi alone. Correct. So, out of 32 films, if eight films are given per language, Amazon can only take 8 to 12 films; Netflix can also... They can take 8 to 12 Telugu films per year. It’s the same for Hotstar. Assume it’s the same for everyone, say 12.
(49:57) So, all platforms combined can take about 100 films. How many are we making? We are making 300 films. So, where is the opportunity for the remaining 200 films? Those 200 films will never be released. So, between '21 and '26, in these five years, at least 500 films won't go anywhere; at most, they can put them on YouTube.
(50:21) I can definitely list 500 films. Which will not recover even one rupee of their investment; I mean, in reality , for each film... Even if we account for one crore rupees per film, that’s 500 crores to 1000 crores of dead investment lying out there. My God. Yeah. Hmm. They have no other direction. So, what I wanted to say—you asked what I wanted to say—is that you have to make extremely good content.
(50:55) There is no... There is no way; a film that is just " okay" has absolutely no scope at all. That is a very dangerous situation to be in—being "okay." Even for them, it’s not okay. If it’s not good, we ourselves know it’s not good, and we are just building up hopes. If it is good, then definitely, no one can stop a good film today.
(51:17) You don’t have to do anything; a simple example is the film*Husharu*or* Pitta Kathalu*. Okay, everyone is saying that it's an obscene film, or that it has this or that, but if so many obscene films were coming out every day, people wouldn't be watching them, right? There is definitely a soul to that film which people are liking, and it is definitely a profitable film; they get 2x to 3x profits compared to what they invested.
(51:43) But I knew at least that it would stand out; I saw it a year ago and I identified it. That it's a film to be produced. At the same time, the script I recently approved is Alias Rukmini. Nani is producing it with Nithin now, right? Similarly, the film I recently approved for acquisition, meaning for distribution, is Crazy Kalyan.
(52:10) Naresh garu, Anupama Parameswaran, and ... And whenever it releases, it will be a super hit film. I won't say it's a hit, super hit, or blockbuster. But for what it is, it is definitely a hit film. It will be profitable for the producers . So, at least the ones I select, I won't say that any of those films became huge disasters. Hmm.
(52:36) They are either critically acclaimed or have made their money back. As for the films I rejected, I would say they haven't even been made yet. Making a film and getting money in theaters is one thing; before, money used to come from OTT and satellite. Yes. These things used to be there, and there are three layers to it; one is the distributor.
(52:55) Theaters, producer, distributor, satellite, OTT. Yes. There are so many layers. So now tell me, how is it distributed, and who gets how much, and are you looking at the profit? Profit is very difficult. Ah. There will be 10%of films. Which will be profitable, and 10%of films which will break even. 80%of the films will be completely, I mean, will be loss-making; among that 80%, 50%of the films won't even recover their investment; I mean, pre-COVID, that period didn't actually exist.
(53:32) If you made a film, through satellite, through theater, or through whatever way, you could recover at least 20-25%; if you invested one crore, you would at least get 20 lakhs. Um. Now, if you invest one crore, there is a situation where you won't even get one rupee back. Such a situation used to happen only for one or two very terrible films back then.
(53:55) Now it's not like that; it's happening to 50%of the films. Whatever you have invested, you won't even get it; you won't even get one rupee. It's a sad situation. It is sad, but that is also a self-made situation. Hmm. Like making it in a rush. In a frenzy. In a frenzy, plus budgets are also like , they are able to make a film in 50 lakhs or 1 crore.
(54:18) So, with the thought process of "it's fine, let's just try it, it's only 1 crore," they go ahead and do it. Now even YouTube is making a lot of money, meaning they are making money, and these people are getting money; there are a few YouTube hits like that too. Definitely, there are. There are many, and YouTube is like a boon for young filmmakers, especially those who make small content and gain a good name on YouTube, they are doing big films too; many such people have come up.
(54:44) There are many people. Yeah, Tharun Bhascker and all of them came up that way. So do you think that's a high-up? Is YouTube a boon in this time? Definitely . If you want to do an experiment, they say, "It's not a big movie, just do it here, you'll find success there," right ? One problem is that there are 50%of the people who are in a situation where they can't put this movie anywhere; they can't put it on OTT.
(55:09) Those who are in a position where no one will buy it, they can't even put it on YouTube, unfortunately. They still look down upon it. Yeah. Because if we spend 1 crore rupees, you cannot recover 1 crore on YouTube. 1 crore. There is a system on YouTube where you can invest 10 lakhs and recover that 10 lakhs in a year.
(55:30) But a system that can return 1 crore doesn't exist yet. YouTube. Serials and AI, both of these...one is serials and television, they will run forever, and in rural villages, it is still popular. Television serials are still popular because they come right into the home, and people are used to sitting down for it at that specific time. That's one thing.
(55:56) On the other hand, on screen. They are making them as series and people are binge-watching them to finish. Yes. So, do you see any difference between these two? Which one is going to stay longer? The speed at which this change happens is a blink-and-you-miss-it moment. Do you remember there used to be BlackBerry phones? I know, I know.
(56:21) No one thought they would fail. We couldn't even imagine our lives without BlackBerry. But just like that, when I shifted from BlackBerry to a smartphone, among maybe 1,000 people I knew, no one had a smartphone. I ordered it from the US then; everyone else was still using those.
(56:49) But six months down the line, everybody was holding a smartphone. Correct. So, this change, as you say, that TV is permanent and serials will keep coming on TV... Hmm. That is because not every home has internet access yet. Um. Recently, my mother stayed at my place for two months because my father had surgery. Hmm. All she watched was Netflix, Amazon Prime, or something with movies.
(57:18) Um. She didn't even touch a serial. Um. Whereas she used to watch serials every day. Because we don't have that connection. This dish show. I have a projector and home theater. So, we haven't known "TV" for 20 years. So there was only OTT. In that OTT too, I only showed her those, so she is watching only films.
(57:42) Hmm. So, the moment every house has a good internet connection...I mean, everyone has already got smart TVs. They have, they have. Every house has a smart TV, but they don't have the internet connection yet. The day every house gets an internet connection, maybe in one single day, serials won't even exist.
(58:01) My guess. Because they have more... There will be more interesting content in series. A series is not a serial. Yeah, about six, seven, eight... There will be seven or eight episodes. And then seasons. Yeah, and this will change, that constant weeping, even the filmmaking will change, because there is a certain type of filmmaking here, right? So, dragging it out is a technique here .
(58:25) Correct. Taking some idea and stretching it to 30 minutes, that is. My feeling is they are actually watching it only because they have no other choice. It's not that I think they would watch the same thing if given a choice. And with the arrival of AI, many AI-generated films are coming out now. Yes.
(58:47) A Mahabharata one already came out. You're saying more are still coming. Where actors aren't even needed, and even dubbing voices are AI-generated. So in that case, what is the future of cinema? One thing is that it hasn't reached that stage anywhere in the world yet. The maximum shot length that an AI can make is five seconds, 10 seconds—actually, it's five seconds.
(59:15) Default is five seconds; maybe with more tokens and a larger scale, it’s 8 or 10 seconds. After those eight seconds, suppose I generate a shot with actors like you. It won't have continuity again. Hmm. The major problem with AI is that there is no continuity. Hmm. Now, if I use your same photo and want to take a shot of you walking from here .
(59:42) Your saree will change, or your jewelry will change, or your hair will change. No one has been able to achieve 100% consistency to keep the same character from one shot to the next. That prompt... That prompt, that continuity is not there. Clothes change, or sometimes the fingers change, or the hairstyle changes.
(1:00:03) They did the Narasimha avatar, how well they did it. But that is not fully AI, you see. It is not entirely generated by AI. I watched a film recently that was fully AI-generated about a dog. Hmm. With animals, it’s still harder because I can't easily spot that continuity. Now, you might have clothes on, and in the next part, you might not.
(1:00:26) Here, the jewelry changes. That is easy to spot. Hmm. Now, the fact that a dog is just a dog doesn't register immediately. Hmm. A furry dog is just a furry dog. That's it. So details are what they are able to achieve to that level. So there is no immediate danger that everyone will just start doing it right away, even if it has arrived.
(1:00:44) Hmm. That's just one type of cinema. That's it, okay. It's just another genre, that's all. Okay. It won't replace all of these things. You ask what the future is, what to expect next. Will television exist? Will satellites exist? Television won't exist; OTT will be your television. Okay. It feels like television as such might completely go extinct.
(1:01:12) But there is news, right? I'm saying that will also come on OTT. Hmm. I mean, you have a... This will take time still. 10 years down the line is what I'm saying. Now, the newspaper is almost absolute... That much. Now, we have newspapers, but it won't be that the newspaper disappears completely. It won't. We thought the same about books, that they would disappear and everyone would switch to e-books.
(1:01:39) That reversed, it completely reversed; everyone is going back to books. Is that so? You feel something— there's that—but it is not replacing any of those things, actually. You are only seeing bad content being replaced by good content. So content is not going anywhere. Hmm. Content will stay; I'm saying TV as an idea will go away.
(1:02:05) Okay, listening is increasing, a lot of Spotify, or listening is becoming more common and watching is becoming less. Plus, all of that will come to your smart TV only, I'm saying. Exactly. And maybe more projectors will come, that's one feeling I have. Even more than TVs, many are already so big actually. TVs will become almost like wall-length .
(1:02:28) Yes, projectors... Right, right. Speaking of publications, you mentioned many publications, and you already mentioned that at one time, a book... To publish, one had to go to someone, get the writing typed, get it edited, then get it proofread, then edited again, read for mistakes, and edited again. This was a one-to-two-month process.
(1:02:55) One month, definitely. One month, for sure. But with software, with the software you discovered, and by modifying... and customizing existing tools... it's done in one or two days. It's done in days. It gets done. But how many people are really buying and reading books remains a challenge. Not at all, you wouldn't believe it.
(1:03:20) After we came...I think we started in 2018, almost around 18-19, during the Corona time. We felt this time could be used for this. Because of that, I might have been a bit away from films, but the kind of change is something you wouldn't believe. As far as I know, the first book I did after returning from the UK was publishing Satya Garu's book, "Our Films, Their Films.
(1:03:54) " Okay. Telugu films, ours and theirs. We didn't know anything—would they buy books? Would they even read books? We knew nothing. We printed 2,000 copies. Mm. It took us 10 years. To sell them. It took more than 10 years, actually. Poor Kathi Mahesh had one room in his house dedicated to those books. Hm.
(1:04:18) Because he was also one of the partners who worked on publishing that book. But today, sometimes we are scared, thinking, "Oh, will they buy 1,000 copies?" so we print 500. Mm. We are able to sell 500 in one week. Mm. Any book—it doesn't matter if I wrote it, or another famous author wrote it, or a newcomer wrote it.
(1:04:44) Even if a person nobody knows writes a book, we can sell the first edition in a maximum of one month. Mm. I'm not saying this is our greatness. People are reading. That's why selling 1,000 copies—what once took 10 years, now doesn't even take 10 days. They are buying. They are buying. Mm. So for a decent book, 10,000 copies can be sold easily. Easily, they are.
(1:05:11) Do you think they are reading? I mean, since we started, we might have created 50x more readers in Telugu. If there were a lakh readers then, there must be 50 lakh readers now. Mm. Definitely. So, they have increased. A lot. There are film schools, and these film schools are producing technicians and actors every year.
(1:05:36) So, do you think there are really opportunities for employment for all these people graduating with such passion from these film schools? It's difficult, I'm saying this honestly. I have taught. Mm. I taught direction and scriptwriting for three or four years. Even among them, I wouldn't say 10%of the people are worth it; only 10%actually know why they joined this.
(1:06:03) The other 90%are just disillusioned. Hmm. They somehow convinced their families —they have no interest in doing things like engineering. Or no interest in studying that much. So they think this is fun to work in. This industry is fun to work in, but only after coming here do they realize there is no hell worse than this. For someone doing it.
(1:06:26) Only the one doing it knows, because first, they come chasing the fame, then they realize there's no money, no time, no sleep. No time, no food. The fame we imagined isn't there, so those 90%come without knowing any of this. Actually, there is that 10%, and for them, even if it takes some time... Like, they made a movie called Patang recently. Praneeth, he is my student.
(1:06:56) And recently, with Kiran Abbavaram, a cute film... With Kiran Abbavaram, they announced a pan-Indian film called Indraputra. Srikanth, he was also a Rama Naidu Film School student. So it took some time, it took five or six years after that guy got out. But those who have the passion will definitely make it.
(1:07:17) I mean, there is also the learning aspect, right? I have seen it while teaching; 90%of the people come to class only because they paid the fees. Hmm. They basically don't know, they don't even know why they came. So if you really have that crazy passion, where... That is why, since they just came to college because they paid money, their career opportunities are...
(1:07:42) Low. Actually impossible. Okay, putting all of them aside, what about the other side of it, for example , technicians? Camera. Lighting, music. Yes. Editing, and online editing too. Mixing. How is the future for all of these? For them, it is very, it has completely opened up. Very recently, a guy named Sai Maninder , that guy is growing, I mean like leaps and bounds.
(1:08:14) As a sound... Engineer. Sound engineer. Because we don't have anyone here really, except for the old timers from back then. Otherwise, there was this vacuum in the middle, so everyone used to go to Chennai for sync cinema. But he kind of understood that, he bid for it and he is getting work, but how many films can he do alone? Correct.
(1:08:35) He can do 10 in a year. So we need 10 such people. So those 10 sound engineers are needed. We need sound engineers, we need editors. We need music directors. Tell me, where are they? Tell me who the Telugu music directors are. They are coming, young ones. That's it, we need more and more of them, actually.
(1:08:54) We need creators. We need many of them. We need music directors and editors. We need cinematographers. So we need a lot of them in Telugu. Hmm. We always had this mindset that we can easily get technicians from Tamil Nadu. It's there, it's there. So now that is changing, and we need more of them.
(1:09:20) Actually, I know a lot of ...at one time, very few Telugu people used to study at the Pune Film Institute. But for the last 10 years... Every year at least one or two people are coming out of... Pune. Whether it's the Pune Institute or the Satyajit Ray Film Institute A film that came from the Satyajit Ray Film Institute recently, it's called Red Hibiscus ' Erra Mandaram' is one of the best Telugu films I have watched recently So, I mentioned the films I approved this year, like 'Amir Lok' or 'Crazy Kalyanam', 'Erra Mandaram' is one more
(1:09:56) film And you can see that by the end of the year, all the films I mentioned will be on some list of the best films of this year Lovely Without any doubt What is the future of cinema? It will be as it always has been; nothing will change Mm But since AI has arrived to suit the conditions, AI will become an important aspect of filmmaking Um We cannot leave AI behind completely; saying I won't use AI will be your own loss, that's all It would be foolishness Like saying I won't shoot in digital and will only shoot on film
(1:10:32) Nolan is still shooting on film But that works for him There will be only one Nolan, right? We can't all be like Nolan, so we might hold onto a traditional practice out of principle But that works for one or two people; for 99.9%of people, in general You have to keep all these changing things in mind Mm Even in the story too He's saying how much AI has become a part of our lives should be reflected in the story as well I'll tell you something very simple; we were all watching a movie the other day
(1:11:12) In it, someone asks, "Hello Gemini" For almost everyone there who had Gemini activated It started responding in the theater Oh Consider this a preview, maybe for four or five people Because Gemini might not have been automatically activated for everyone But for everyone who had it activated, as soon as they said "Hello Gemini," it replied So it is a situation in real life, right? Correct So we have to use all these things; I can't just think of old stories, like when I first came here in the 90s, that
(1:11:48) won't work Mm Okay When you are making a story 30 years later, you can't tell a 90s story anymore So you have to tell a new story I should talk about film with responsibility because we are seeing more obscene language and adult talk, even with children Because of this, we see more mature acts in young children too So how do we balance this scenario? It's a very tricky question; what I believe is that children are not as innocent as we think Because I, especially, grew up in a disciplined school
(1:12:31) A Sainik school, meaning waking up at 4:30, doing PT, wearing a uniform, bathing Wearing a khaki uniform, going to class , having breakfast after two classes, coming to assembly, doing three more classes, milk break—everything was like Planned Daily morning PT dress, then school dress, then games dress, then dinner dress, then night dress—changing six dresses every day Different shoes, ties, this and that— it was so perfect, there was a very
(1:13:10) strict roll call We couldn't...our school was 250 to 500 acres And it was in some village; we couldn't go out, the school was fully surrounded by barbed wire It was like an army concentration camp. I couldn't even step out. I was in that kind of school in the sixth grade, maybe I was 11 or 12 years old, somewhere around that time. Who influenced us? It was people of our own age, right? So, the curiosity we had at that age, I see the same curiosity when I interact with a 10-year-old or a 12-year-old boy .
(1:13:47) So, what we teach them or show them in movies has very little impact, I think. Yes, there is influence, in terms of social responsibility. It exists, it exists, but by stopping them from seeing it... I am saying we are not doing them any good. Yes. That curiosity, you on TV or media... Where? Attributing it to that is not correct at all, I say.
(1:14:15) If he doesn't have friends at school, there are various other ways, like mobile phones. Many, a lot of this. So, in any way, there is one method; one method is not showing them any of this at all. But he... Or she... Or a girl, thinking they will be better if we stop them from knowing anything is a big blunder. In fact, tell them everything.
(1:14:42) Tell them the impacts of doing this or not doing this, whatever it is. Anything that you feel is affecting their mental health, physical health, or whatever. What happens if you do it, what happens if you don't? If you do it, how to do it safely? And if a mistake happens, what are the after-effects? What are the rectifications for it? If you can tell them that, it is much better.
(1:15:11) But if you create a black hole for them saying "it doesn't exist"... It will make them even more curious. Leave it to their intelligence. Yes, yes. And experience. And I think they are much more intelligent than us. 100%. Take a three-year-old. The moment they come home, I sometimes wonder which button to press to turn this on, like the remote.
(1:15:35) Very naturally, he knows, or she knows, which button to operate the AC, projector, or anything. So, it has come into their DNA. So, us trying to stop it now or trying not to tell them is not the right approach at all. It is about being more open and telling them everything. It's not just about one particular thing I am talking about .
(1:15:58) It can be substance abuse, it can be anything—relationships or anything. Be open, tell them everything, talk to them. I think today's parents, this is what they should do. My last question: what are your future plans? My future plans—I want to make a film next year for sure. That is, I want to direct a film.
(1:16:21) And more than publishing others 'books, I want to be writing more books. Hmm. So, I am working on a lot of new novels and translations. So next year, there will be a lot of content that is from me. Not through me. Not others' content that I bring forward. It will be content that...the focus for next year will be that.
(1:16:47) Fantastic. I am working towards that very actively . I have achieved that time now; I have that time now. Hmm. I can take that risk, and I have achieved that maturity also. As to what story to tell. You yourself evolved Yes, to what you want to be What I want to be Perfect, perfect Thank you, thank you so much, thank you very much It's nice talking to you, and we learned about the current situation of movies and OTT, thank you so much Thank you And thanks for your time Yes, thank you