K Dasaradh shot to fame in the 2000s with 'Santosham' and 'Mr. Perfect'. 'Love You Ram', a film he has written and co-produced, is hitting the cinemas this Friday (June 30).
In this interview, the writer-producer says that the compact coming-of-age love story features newcomers (Rohit Behal and Aparna Janardhanan) as deemed fit. As someone who worked as an assistant to writers such as Yandamuri and Paruchuri Brothers, Dasaradh is enjoying this phase of writing.
Recently, a 'Love You Ram' screening was hosted for some select audience members. The response was amazing. I have co-produced the movie with DY Chowdary, whom I have known for a very long time. We first collaborated to do an OTT project. We ended up doing 'Love You Ram', a new-gen love story.
There was a time when parents' obstinacy used to be the villain in love stories. Nowadays, conflicts between lovers are the antagonist. A lot of love stories are taking root on social media. Exchanging numbers and pics is how the bonding is getting generated. They confess love on Valentine's Day or some other special occasion. All this looks rosy. But what happens after they fall in love is what is crucial. Lies come to the fore. What if the girl realizes that the man she is in love with is not what he comes across as? That's what our film shows. The situations are entirely slice-of-life.
The entire second half takes place in a space of three days. It starts with a wedding and ends with the nuptial night.
I enjoyed doing a role in the movie. Acting is a learning process. And it is much more relaxed than directing. There is a lot of scope to explore ourselves.
The film was supposed to be shot in the US. Due to Visa issues, we had to shoot some portions in Norway, which is extremely expensive. The weather is unpredictable. It can rain anytime. The making was such a challenge.
My last directorial was released in 2016. There was a time when directors used to have at least one release a year. Trivikram hasn't had a release since 'Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo'. Look at the gap between 'Rangasthalam' and 'Pushpa: The Rise'. If you deliver just one flop, your career goes backward by five years. There is no average at the box office. A film is either a disaster or a blockbuster. That's why directors are circumspect these days. These days, directors are running businesses. A director I know runs an online apparel business. The Hollywood culture is taking over. There is no hard and fast rule that a filmmaker has to work only on films all round year.
I have written a story for a yet-to-be-announced movie starring Panja Vaisshnav Tej. I am writing the screenplay for 'Ustaad Bhagat Singh', which I call a 90% straight movie. The recently-released glimpse made it clear that the film's treatment is original. I and Harish Shankar first collaborated on a web series. I was then asked to collaborate on screenplay-writing.
I am liking writing collaborations more these days. I am also in talks with two big banners. The first announcement is going to come out soon.
The audience's tastes have undergone a massive transformation. 'Kantara' logged superb collections in Telugu even though Bhoota Kola is unknown, the actors are unknown, and so on and so forth.
