Director Puri Jaganath

Talented young director makes it to the top

Due to dearth of talent, the producers of Telugu films used to procure rights of Tamil films or hired Tamil directors to make Telugu films. But now, with the advent of talented youngsters like Arunprasad and now Puri Jaganath, the scenario has changed. The producers are bestowing confidence on local talent. Jaganath, who made his debut with the blockbuster Badri, which has grossed more than Rs 12 crores, is now being wooed by more than 15 producers.

He has completed his next film Bachi, with Jagapati Babu, and bagged an offer of a life-time of directing the redoubtable Chiranjeevi early next year. “It was like a dream-come-true for me,” confessed Jaganath, expressing happiness for getting a chance to direct the numero uno star at the beginning of his career, something which has remained a ‘dream’ for many a director. Besides, he is also doing a ‘different’ love story for the prestigious Usha Kiron Movies . And that is not all. Next year he will be commencing an English film for the international audience with actor Prakash Raj in the lead. He is unwilling to take up new offers until he finishes the existing ones. Jaganath played Nag’s friend in the Hindi film Shiva and later ‘cut’ the trailers for Rangeela before joining Krishna Vamsi. Excerpts from an interview with the ever-smiling and promising director at the Mahati recording studio......

One of the hallmarks of the blockbuster Badri was ‘action’ devoid of regular choreographed stunts. How could you convince Pavan Kalyan?
I was very much impressed with the stunts of Hollywood star Steven Seagel which are usually crisp and realistic. So I spoke about this aspect to Kalyan and since he loves action a lot, he readily accepted. We consciously avoided jumps, somersaults and tried to be as realistic as possible without losing the impact. To give a different sound for the punches we ‘mixed’ sounds of three or four punches and it worked wonders since it sounded very different. We also took care not to exceed the length. The actor’s anger, which starts casually and grows gradually, ends up as a full-blown action towards the climax. We even had bouts of action scenes, 60 feet and 90 feet long, and they were well-received by the audience.

The discussion between the lead stars in the climax is reminiscent of Prema Desam which received a mixed response initially before turning out to be a big hit?
I disagree because I didn’t even see that film. I got the appointment with Kalyan after six months and I was summoned to his place at 4.30 am. He patiently heard the full narration for 4 hours and he liked everything except the climax and asked me to re-write it. I tried very hard to come up with a more convincing end but finally I met him with the same climax. He approved it instantly. He said that he wanted to test my confidence and that I had passed the test. The talk was only in the industry and not among the audience because the latter lapped it up in a big way and made it a sensational hit. I would always bow to the judgement of the viewers and not to the so-called trade pundits.

Will you briefly say something about your background?
Impressed with Ram Gopal Varma’s film, I approached him to take me as his assistant. But since that was not possible at that time, he asked me to do a role in the Hindi film Shiva. Later, he assigned me the job to ‘cut’ trailers for his film Rangeela and I was thrilled since it showed his confidence in me. Thereafter, director Krishna Vamsi took me under his wings and I assisted him for 3 years, from Gulabi to Sindooram. I decided to turn independent and worked out a script and approached Kalyan and as they say, the rest is history.

According to the grapevine, you received more than 10 offers while making Badri. Any specific reason for choosing Baachi out of the lot?
I received more than 15 offers and not 10 as you mention but I felt that they were fake. They just wanted to give me some advance and block my dates and they would have made a film with me later if Badri became a hit, if not, they would flee from the scene. I didn’t fall a prey to their bait and I waited for a genuine offer. After the release of Badri, another star, Jagapati Babu, called me up to appreciate my work and also of Pavan Kalyan. It was nice to hear a star appreciating the work of another star.

So when he made an offer, I accepted it immediately and met the producers of Srinivasa Arts. If you pester Jagapati Babu three or four times on the same subject, he feels irritated. So I worked a script around his personal trait. He plays a police officer with a different costume and attitude. It will basically be a fun film. He receives a courier from Dubai and the box contains a kid. All his attempts to send the kid back are in vain and it affects his love with Nilambari. This is the basic story line.

After seeing Badri, an impression is created that you are fascinated by big-budget extravaganzas?
No. I made Badri in 7 crores and now I have made Baachi with a budget less than that. My next film for Usha Kiron Movies would have even a much lesser one. I always believed that the subject should be crucial in deciding the budget and not the other way round. And I will stick to this view forever. The Usha Kiron Movies film will be a youthful love story with a novel angle and even its publicity and promotion will be very different. It will also be a musical. The casting is being finalised and the film will go on the floors from December. I am happy to be associated with such a prestigious banner.

How did you bag the plum offer to direct numero uno star Chiranjeevi? How did it all happen?
It was like a dream-come-true for me since I used to watch his films as a student and many a time I even tore my shirt in the rush to grab a ticket to see his films. I just worked a script for him during the making of Badri. I never dreamt that it would be approved so quickly. When I went to narrate the story to him, he told me at the very outset that he would give his opinion frankly, whether it is good or bad, immediately after hearing it and asked me not to feel offended if it went otherwise.

Fortunately, after a 4-hour-long detailed narration, he approved. But what truly surprised me most was the disclosure on his own made in the Press about his doing a film for me. The film has a novel plot with loads of fun befitting his image. Earlier, it was considered a great honour to be associated with NTRs’ films and for this generation it is Chiranjeevi.

Surprisingly, you have announced an English film to be made with Prakash Raj. Is it a wise decision at this stage of your career?
I was impressed by a short story I had read 10 years ago. I was waiting for an opportunity to put it on celluloid. It is s a very interesting theme and the reason for making it in English is that I can stick to the subject unlike in Telugu where you have to add songs and a comedy track. Prakash Raj suits the character perfectlyu. The film will be of 1-1/2 hours duration. I will do it in the gap period, without disturbing my Telugu film assignments.

BVS Prakash