Filmmaker Sampath Nandi began his career with an intense film like Emaindi Ee Vela, but it was his action entertainers Raccha and Bengal Tiger that pushed his bar as a storyteller. He doesn’t want his films to be mere commercial packages; he wants the result to be driven by strong characters with deep philosophies. This time, it was a conversation that a philosopher Sivaprakasam Pillai had with Ramana Maharshi that inspired him to make Goutham Nanda. The protagonist Goutham Ghattamaneni endorses such a philosophy; Sampath took care that the commercial backdrop complemented the idea.
Gopichand’s multiple avatars in the movie has been an aspect that has kept film enthusiasts interested. “Goutham is a billionaire in the film; we took immense care to see that his look and the body language stayed true to the character. It’s a film with a strong conceptual base, I didn’t want it to merely entertain.” He also didn’t want to compromise on the film’s visual appeal. Here Goutham repeatedly questions himself, ‘Who am I’ and is in a quest to find his identity being a billionaire’s son. “It’s his personal journey that’ll keep the audiences glued. The film has been mounted on a wide canvas, there’ll be something that everyone will take back home.” The script wasn’t written with a particular hero in mind-it was actor Gopichand’s interest that got him on board. Hansika and Catherine Tresa have well-defined roles in Goutham Nanda, while Spoorthi (Hansika) inspires Goutham to look at the wider picture of life, Mugdha (Catherine) sways the male protagonist with her beauty.
Sampath is returning to films after a 15-month gap, he states it was the principal filmmaking that took about 10 months time-the script was written in a shorter span. “Between each of my films, I dig myself into movies and literature. You don’t know where your inspiration can come from; sometimes it’s a newspaper or even a Whatsapp message that leads to your story,” Sampath states. Whenever he needs motivation, it’s the works of Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani, Christopher Nolan and Shankar that do the trick. He hints that a character in Goutham Nanda has shades of the Joker character from Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
Sampath Nandi had also turned a producer with Galipatam, he mentions that it was only to support his friends. He doesn’t enjoy the role as much; he prefers to use the time he gets to write a story instead.
“My focus is always on being a director,” he clears the air. That’s precisely the reason he isn’t nervous about Goutham Nanda or the fact that actor Gopichand desperately needs a hit. He’s assured that it’s something he crafted to the best of his abilities and considers this his most satisfying work to date. “There are no item songs in it, the climax doesn’t subscribe to a conventional diktat. I have been very measured in using the commercial freedom I had for the project. I am eager and yet confident to know the audience reaction.”