'Bedurulanka 2012' director Clax says that the audience is more aware than any character in the movie. The debutant filmmaker talks about the inspirations behind the dramedy, working with Kartikeya Gummakonda and 'Melody Brahma' Mani Sharma, the lessons he learned because of his association with Ram Gopal Varma, and more.
The film, produced by Ravindra Benerjee Muppaneni on Loukya Entertainments, will be released in theatres on August 25.
Clax is not my birth name. I dabbled in different fields before entering the film field. My roommates were trying for opportunities in films. And my father has been an avid movie buff. I once watched an Italian movie named 'Life Is Beautiful', which made me believe that we can influence others through cinema. I tried to learn about cinema and discovered that filmmaking is like science. I worked on movies like 'Swamy Ra Ra' in the direction department. Director Sudheer Varma, who is technically very strong, always supported me.
I also got to work under RGV garu for about six months. That was when he was doing movies like 'Killing Veerappan'. My association with him made me believe that filmmaking has to be looked at from an artistic perspective. His thinking is different. As long as I used to see filmmaking as science, I was phobic. But once I saw filmmaking as art, my fear was gone. I also worked under Deva Katta garu. It was a web series based on 'Baahubali' for Netflix. The project was scrapped. Mrunal Thakur of 'Sita Ramam' played Sivagami in that series. I got in touch with 'RX 100' director Ajay Bhupathi during my stint with RGV garu. I got to meet Kartikeya Gummakonda during that phase when I wanted to become a director. Had it not been for the pandemic, our association would have happened much earlier.
When the first wave of Covid-19 was over, I worked on Aha Video's 'Super Over', which was directed by Sudheer Varma, whose brother got me introduced to producer Benny Muppaneni. He is the first producer who understood the essence and mood of the kind of film I wanted 'Bedurulanka' to be. That made me so happy. After listening to the full version, he assured me the project would be rolled out. At that time, we were yet to figure out who the male lead would be.
A Hollywood movie titled '2012' was based on the concept of 'Yugantham'. The 'end of the world' theme is merely a backdrop for 'Bedurulanka 2012'. It's an emotional hook. In a movie directed by Akira Kurosawa, there is a dialogue: We will behave without inhibitions if we were told the world would come to an end tomorrow. Both '2012' and this sentence are the inspirations behind 'Bedurulanka'. The central message is subtle. The dramedy format is what I have adopted. The comedy is derived from the drama. There are no jokes inspired by social media trends/memes. About 95% of the movie is entertaining.
Two religious preachers exploit the beliefs of people. The word 'Lanka' in the title denotes an island. Yedurulanka is where the story is set. 'Beduru' denotes phobia in the minds of people, whose fears drive the story.
Neha Sshetty is a beauty. She is a superb dancer as well. Choosing Mani Sharma garu is a consensual decision made by me and my producer. Since I am a first-timer, there were apprehensions about whether I would be able to handle such a big name. But Mani Sharma garu was very easy to work with. He would welcome me to share my frank opinions. He was ready to take 'No' from me.
The First Look of our movie made many believe that 'Bedurulanka' is a sci-fi movie. The poster was designed to grab everyone's attention. But the glimpse video convinced everyone that the film is a village drama and is not sci-fi or fantasy.
Kartikeya plays a youngster who stands on one side while the whole village is on the other side. He is an actor who can look convincing in such a domineering part. Ajay Ghosh, Srikanth Iyengar, 'Jabardasth' Ram Prasad and other actors have separate arcs. I concentrated on their looks being unique. For example, Ajay Ghosh's character is showy.
Producer Benny garu has previously made 'Colour Photo', which won a National Award. When I pitched the story to him, I didn't give him any budget. I am blessed in terms of getting to work with a passionate producer.
After the release of teaser and trailer, I received appreciation from some individuals in the film industry. 'Bedurulanka' is not a complete mass masala movie. If this film becomes a hit, I will do a more experimental subject next. The audience these days are appreciative of the naturalistic approach of Malayalam movies, for example. This is the influence of OTT. 'Bedurulanka' is coming out at the right time. It was destiny.
