2024’s new brigade: Debut directors of Telugu cinema

Recap 2024

Beyond the glitz, hype, and attention surrounding star-led films directed by well-known names that rake in several hundred crores at the box office, Telugu cinema has been witnessing a wave of first-time directors with refreshing stories. Here are a few that stood out in 2024.

Not a small feat

Nanda Kishore Emani, ‘35: Chinna Katha Kaaadu’

Nanda Kishore Emani’s 35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu (‘35-not a small story’) is a deceptively simple film in which mathematics and music are the tools through which relationships between school friends, a couple, mother and sons, father and sons, and the mentorship between an older and a younger woman are explored.

Screened at the 55th Indian International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, in the Indian Panorama section, 35 is a reminder of the legendary director K Vishwanath’s movies. Nanda Kishore, who considers films of directors K Vishwanath, Bapu and Singeetham Srinivasa Rao as his inspirations, breaks several cliched tropes. “In the industry, romance in marriage or the bond between children in school is not considered saleable. Since very few films have explored these aspects in-depth in recent times, I saw it as an opportunity for storytelling,” he says.

Arun, a boy nicknamed zero because he is unable to grasp the fundamentals of mathematics, is challenged to score at least 35 in the subject. He gets no help from his teacher (unlike in Taare Zameen Par). Nanda Kishore says, “We may not always have an outsider helping us in life,” and makes Arun’s mother, Saraswathi (Nivetha Thomas in a standout performance), a Class X fail candidate, rise to the challenge. 

Another trope that 35 sidesteps is of the father so strict as to be seen as an antagonist. “That would have been easy to do,” Nanda Kishore reflects. “A father’s strict nature usually comes from a concern for his child. So I wanted Prasad (Vishwadev) to come across as a good natured father.”

Nanda Kishore was keen to make a commercially viable children’s film and is glad that 35 was profitable for everyone involved in the business. Pitching his story to producers was not easy since there was no precedent for such a film. “I wanted 35 to succeed so that anyone keen to venture into this path can cite this film as an example.” 

The banter between school children and their support for Arun is heartwarming. For the keen observer, there are subtle details. For instance, it was composer Vivek Athreya’s idea to incorporate a short verse by the mathematician Bhaskaracharya just before the ‘Taaralainaa Cheraalante’ song.

The circle of life

Sujith and Sandeep, ‘KA’ 

Directors Sujith & Sandeep; Kiran Abbavaram in ‘KA’

During the pre-release promotions, actor Kiran Abbavaram and debut directors Sujith and Sandeep exuded confidence in the film’s unpredictable climax. The film’s last 20 minutes surprised viewers and elevated the thriller into a thought-provoking narrative that evoked a sense of awe. 

Sujith reflects, “Soon after KA’s release, Sandeep and I were nervous that if the ending was discussed on social media, it could spoil the fun for others. Thankfully, we did not come across spoilers from the audience or reviewers.” 

Sujith was a brand strategist and his brother Sandeep was a graphic designer adept in visual effects. Sujith analysed the trends in Telugu cinema to identify lesser-explored genres. “To make the audience curious enough to come to the theatres, we had to offer them something exciting. Since the pandemic, people have been watching international cinema and want new stories.” 

As someone interested in philosophy, Sujith began to work on a story that explores themes such as birth, karma, death and the journey of the soul and weaved it into a thriller. “The postal system was the predominant method of communication a few decades ago and I chose that for the story.” Thus, he characterised the protagonist as a postman who reads others’ letters to fill the void in his life. “The womb was an interesting concept to connect all these ideas; it is said that the soul, or KA, recollects incidents from the previous life. The interrogation room was born out of the idea that we are accountable to someone — be it conscience or God — for all our actions.” The ending of the film was known only to the directors, the actors involved in the scenes and the cinematographers.

While Sujith oversaw the creative aspects, Sandeep helped execute the production design and visual effects. The film had approximately 600 VFX shots.

Ever since the film began to stream digitally (on ETV Win), Sujith says viewers have been noticing minute details thanks to the Dolby atmos sound and Dolby vision streaming. “The texture of the walls of the interrogation room and the sound of the mother’s breath that pervades in the background are all being noticed.”

Soul-searching journey

Vidyadhar Kagita, ‘Gaami’’

Vishwak Sen in ‘Gaami’; director Vidyadhar Kagita

An Aghora (Vishwak Sen) who cannot feel human touch embarks on a tedious journey to the Himalayas in search of a cure. The journey turns out to be more than a physical exploration, as parallel stories emerge. Vidyadhar Kagita’s Gaami was an eight-year journey. A mechanical engineering graduate, Vidyadhar had earlier stated that this ambitious film is the result of his “innocence, madness and stupidity” to take a leap of faith into the unknown. 

When the film released in theatres this March and the opening weekend saw housefull shows in single-screen theatres in Hyderabad’s RTC Crossroads, Vidyadhar concedes he was pleasantly surprised. “It got me thinking, because I had not purportedly designed my film to be a crowd-pleaser. The audience was reacting to the moments. They cheered when the girl (a crucial character in the film) returned, and were patient in the portions where there was silence, with no background music; this is tough to achieve. It was a learning curve. Filmmaking is about engineering an emotion. The tricky part is to understand who we are catering to. The sensibilities of someone working abroad in a multinational company may be different from those of someone who works hard all day and comes to a single screen theatre in Hyderabad, but they are both bound by the same emotions.”

Looking back at the film, Vidyadhar says he is critical of his work and cannot watch any frame without thinking about how he could have done it better. “I also understand that the film represents my personality and thinking at that time; I have grown up since when I began the film.”

Black, white and greys

Yadhu Vamsi, ‘Committee Kurrollu’

Yadhu Vamsi; ‘Committee Kurrollu’

“In our childhood and teens, differences in caste and creed do not come in between friends, unless they are fed in by elders around us. I remember when we were preparing for the EAMCET (Engineering, Agriculture and Medical Common Entrance Test), we began to see how some students had an advantage due to reservations,” says Yadhu Vamsi, an investment banker turned filmmaker. 

Committee Kurrollu was a journey of three years, during which Vamsi and his team auditioned over 6,000 artistes to select 14 newcomers for the film. “I did not want to cast any well-known actors because they would carry an image.” He pitched his story, set in Amalapuram in west Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, to several producers. Though many of them appreciated the storyline, they were hesitant to take it up. “Some of them wanted me to narrate the story with fewer characters. Some advised me to make a ‘box office safe’ debut film, like a romcom, and save this story for the future. But I was determined to make a mark.”

Through actor Ankith Koyya, he got in touch with Niharika Konidela who came forward to produce the film and ensured creative freedom to execute the story that unfolds in three timelines — 1990, 2010 and 2023. “I intended to make a nostalgic film that celebrated friendships that transcend caste barriers and also explores the reservation issue, which is not clearly black or white. I am glad the audience appreciated the film and understood its ethos.” 

Whether or not these directors continue to steer away from the formulaic route in their next films, they are unanimous in asserting the importance of making films that do not take the audiences for granted. As Nanda Kishore sums up, “The box office success of Committee Kurrollu, Gaami and 35 have shown that when we make a good film, people will come to the theatres. Audiences, who are acquainted with world cinema thanks to digital platforms, are keen to support good stories.”