“The excitement that a person has when he writes a story should sustain till he sees the last copy. That passion for cinema is the driving force for a director to hang on in this industry, despite debacles,” says the newest director in town, Lakshman Karya. He has wrapped up the shoot of Happy Wedding. Lakshman observes that be it Rangasthalam, Sammohanam or Mahanati, performance-based films are becoming a success which is a good trend. It shows that the audience is accepting new and experimental stories. Everyone is moving towards sensible cinema, he feels.
Quick progress
Most people work for years as assistant directors whereas Lakshman made it relatively soon as a director. The reason most ADs hang on with directors is because they want to be in a secure zone. Without financial support, sustaining oneself in the film industry is difficult. Lakshman concurs, “Even after two years of working in the industry, you might or might not get a chance. The only way is to continue working as an AD and find time to work on your script. However, people working in television as ADs find it easier to work in films because of their learning and experience. They know how to shoot in adverse conditions and can cope with pressure situations. They are trained to prepare content today, shoot it tomorrow and push it for telecast the day after. It will be easy for such people to work in a film. There is also another side to it; if you hang on to the television industry for a long time, your mind doesn’t go that extra mile. Thought process is limited and you don’t go out of the box because you are in a comfort zone.”
Lakshman Karya is a bachelor in Pharmacy and began clicking pictures for a friend who aspired to be an actor. When his friend auditioned for Omkar’s project, he too filled up a form as an assistant director. While his friend became an actor and worked in serials, Lakshman began doing short films. A Bollywood cinematographer saw his short film and roped him in the camera department of his next film, Mogudu. Lakshman wanted to be an assistant director though and met director Deva Katta who was making Auto Nagar Surya. The director accepted his proposal of creating a few ‘making videos’ for the project. There was a gap in between the shoot some day and Lakshman utilised the opportunity to become an assistant director.
Lakshman talks of Happy Wedding that took shape in producer M S Raju’s office. While he was working with Deva Katta, he directed a web series for Yupp TV called Yendukila that had nine episodes. He adds, “I became close to Sumanth Ashwin and in regular story discussions, I told him of my inclination to do a film related to pre-wedding woes; the confusions and insecurities. The story happens six months before marriage and the girl develops cold feet. The dating period differs from the time when you are actually getting married.”
Lakshman cites the many doubts that a girl has before the wedding — whether the boy is indeed a right choice or not, is it actually the right time for her to take the plunge and such insecurities. Having seen Rab de bane di Jodi, he was inspired by the small sensibilities which led him into pooling stuff from lives of various people. He prepared a story and set out to look for a suitable girl. He selected Niharika and reasons, “We wanted a Telugu girl as clarity can be brought in only by someone who speaks Telugu dialogues well. She is apt as she looks 23 or 24 . I am married and certain situations in the story are inspired by my wife. She keeps telling me it is not enough if you love, you will have to demonstrate that love too, be it with parents, spouse or lover. You have to share your thoughts.” Though the film is centred on the girl, Sumanth is apparently the real suspense and audience will be surprised with his performance. It is a fun and a sensible film, it runs for not more than two hours and has been shot in Hyderabad,” informs Lakshman.