Neelakanta awaits the release of 'Circle' this July 7. The thriller stars Sai Ronak, Richa Pannai and Arshin Mehta in key roles. Bankrolled by MV Sharat Chandra, Venu Babu Addagada, and T Sumalatha Annith Reddy, the thriller has choreographer Baba Bhaskar in another pivotal role.
In this interview, the director of films like 'Show' (won two National Film Awards) and 'Missamma' (secured four Nandi Awards) talks about his latest product in detail.
It has been nine years since my previous directorial got released in Telugu. 'Maaya' in 2014 was my last Telugu film. Doing a straight Telugu film after a long gap was very exciting.
'Circle' revolves around the theme of fate. Fate is what bounds individuals to a circle, creating havoc in lives. This is not a romantic or crime thriller. It's an emotional thriller. Sai Ronak plays a renowned photographer who gets trapped in a deleterious circle.
The women in my films have individuality and identity. In 'Circle', too, the attitude of the three female leads towards life, love, and other things will be relatable. Choreographer Baba Baskar's character will thoroughly surprise the audience. For the first time, he has played an antagonist. His style of humour is subtle. And you can expect dark humour as well in 'Circle'. His performance is terrific and everyone will be pleasantly surprised by his acting. The key characters live in different timelines but they get to interact with each other.
While I am not against teaming up with big stars, I haven't done it so far. Star heroes team up with a director only if he has got a huge commercial break. I have always done concept-based movies. Two of my Telugu films got shelved in the 2010s. Mahesh Bhatt wanted to adapt 'Maaya' in Hindi but the project didn't take off. I then did Malayalam movies. All my movies so far have been inspired by my own original thoughts.
Venkatesh garu has been interested to make a film on Swami Vivekananda. I tried to team up with him on that. But it didn't take off.
I have never hankered after recognition and awards. For me, the appreciation from my audience is the ultimate prize. The films of greats like Balachander were a blend of commercial values and content. I feel I haven't been able to achieve that in my career. The audience today expect a unique emotional experience every time. My films like 'Missamma' and 'Show' would have got wider reach today. 'Circle' satisfies the tastes of today's audience.
I have planned a period drama and a social drama next. The former takes place in the 1960s.
