The realm of ‘Rangasthalam’

He draws flak for the excessive time he takes in completing projects, and also for crossing budgets; yet he is the most wanted director. The producers chase him because actors are willing to give him bulk dates, and his team is loyal despite his idiosyncrasies; all is forgotten once the film is out and you deliver an entertaining, unforgettable, quality film.

In a conversation, he shares why the Shakespearean analogy (all the world’s a stage) became an apt title for the film and why memories of his village resonated in Rangasthalam. “It was a working title and we were thinking of a name for the village. Every village is like a stage and every villager has a certain dramatic quality. The name may be confined to that village alone but if you compare it to a drama, it will have universal appeal and that is how we thought of Rangasthalam,” he says.

His previous films showcased his sharp wit and intellectual bent but here it is all about philosophy and a poetic feel. Sukumar says that though he has been around London and Europe, there wasn no satisfaction, his ‘atma’ was in a place where he stayed for 30 years. He recollects, “In the early days we’d love to explore many places, but after a period, you just want to go to a place where you belong and which you can proudly say is yours.”

On developing the story for Rangasthalam, he says, “I had a story that stayed with me and kept me alive. After 1-Nenokkadine and Nanaku Prematho completed, I called Charan and told him the time has come to shoot a village story. Arya has a bit of my roots but this time I wanted a village background with real people.”

The raw memories of the Eighties helped so Sukumar didn’t have to do much research. Rangasthalam is an emotional drama and he had to carry that emotion every day. He admits to having some tense moments as he had doubts about maintaining the consistency. Sukumar shares that Ram Charan never went to a village but on the first day he got into the character easily in one take, the atmosphere helped him and the actors and the team were of good support. Despite all the meticulous preparation and back up why does he write so many versions for a scene? He says candidly, “The story keeps killing me, I become greedy which is why I write so many versions just as a man who is obsessed with money keeps noting his expenditure on paper lest he might forget where he spent it on. I try for clarity and end up getting confused. Sometimes I feel what I had written so far is trash and I should write again. Maybe it is not what I want and I am not conveying it correctly, but if I go to the set and try something new, it would waste time. So I write many versions to better and help myself.”

There are many type of characters in a village, Chitti Babu’s (Ram Charan) handicap here is just a quality but Sukumar makes it his strength and doesn’t use it to elicit sympathy. Instead he focuses on giving a beautiful experience by recreating a virgin village to tell a highly emotional story that happened long back. “May be Kumar Babu (Aadi Pinisetty) is me and Chitti Babu is like my brother,” he adds.

His heroes in the film always have one strange trait, what is his grey quality? He shoots back without any qualms, “It is tension and confusion, I keep overcoming it every day though. It is a conflict. It’ll be like, ‘should I have tea or coffee? If it is coffee, should I have it strong or light or did I drink a bit too much?’ Right from childhood I have had this problem; my folks used to tease me about this. That trait never left me. Writing was also tough, as tough as executing. People say you should enjoy the journey not the goal but the journey has been tough. But the day-to-day success is very important for me.”

Sukumar’s tone changes when he speaks of his family, especially his children. He always resolves to spend time with them after every film but it never happens, “My kids grew up without my knowledge. I only wish they think that their dad made good films and feel proud of me. Every film that I make is a gift to them, this is all I can give them.” Sukumar sums up his experience beautifully: “Every film is a learning process but in totality the summary of my experiences of all films has helped me here. As a director I think I had the experience to handle such a story. It is like attending a marriage in the Eighties, the menu is simple and healthy yet mouth watering... gadda perugu, tomato pappu, gutthi vankaya, neyyi, kobbarikaya pulusu. Full meals.I think I packed that food for the audience.