‘There can never be an honest biopic in the world’

Yatra, a biopic on late chief minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR) brings together Malayalam Superstar Mammootty and director Mahi V Raghav together. Being shot in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, the film shows the 67-year-old actor reprising the role of YSR. Mahi V Raghav recalls how the idea of this film was germinated. “I hail from Kadapa district but never crossed paths with YSR garu. I was in Australia when he had set out on a padayatra (walkathon) and I returned to Hyderabad one year before his death.

Honestly, I don’t know much about him. I’ve relied on several credible sources close to him for preparing the script, bringing many facets of the life of YSR and the incidents which panned in his life. It was a fascinating story that definitely needs a celluloid adaptation,” reveals Raghav.

Filmmakers doing biopics need to have a specific approach and Mahi agrees that it’s important for real stories to have a strong angle. “I would say it’s a story and I don’t want to call Yatra a biopic. I have taken the padayatra as the core plot and woven a spectrum of stories encompassing a range of fascinating characters played by Jagapathi Babu, Suhasini Maniratnam, Rao Ramesh and Ashrita Vemuganti in Yatra,” says Raghav.

The director asserts that Yatra is not a propaganda film and is indeed a fascinating mix of fiction and reality. “Films that present the real-life story of an inspiring personality move onto the perilous ground and follow a chronological trajectory. Several people try to pack too much in, hence they keep jumping from one significant event to another. As a result, they invariably fall short and have too much fudging to engage the audience. I would say Yatra is a mix of reality and fiction and I want to show it as an artistic achievement without missing the soul. I strongly believe there can never be an honest biopic in the world,” reasons the Anando Brahma director.  

Raghav says YSR’s son Jagan Mohan Reddy had no qualms to record his father’s life into a film. “After completing the script, I met Jagan anna during his Praja Sankalpa Yatra and he understood that this film is a tribute to YSR garu from us. However, he was specific about two aspects — to not take credit for what his father has not done (like farmer loan waiver) and has decided to not interfere in the creative process,” shares the director.

As for the challenges, while shooting, the director says, “It was really difficult to shoot the padayatra scenes with the massive crowd. This is for the first time that I have shot an episode of that magnitude and I would say it was quite challenging.” 

Mahi couldn’t stop gushing about the overwhelmingly positive reactions about the teaser and is confident of the outcome. “Movie buffs and critics were in complete awe of Mammootty for the way he has internalised YSR’s character. Recently, I have shown the film’s teaser to Jagan anna and he is happy with the presentation too. Mammootty, a three-time National Award winner has captured the unique charm and larger-than-life persona of YSR unequivocally. What’s more exciting is that, besides Malayalam, he has learned Telugu and dubbed his lines to bring more authentic feel. The film has shaped up quite well and the emotional climax is going to tug your heartstrings,” informs Raghav.

The Paathshala director denies that YS Jagan has a cameo in the film. “Towards the end, we have used the real footage of YSR for about 10 minutes and also managed to get Jagan’s real video speaking about his father. The film doesn’t have Jagan’s character whatsoever and reports of he doing a cameo are wrong,” clarifies Raghav.

The director is planning to host a special premiere to YSR’s family soon. “Once the final copy is ready, we will go and meet Jagan anna, invite the family for special screening. Naturally, they are busy with political activities, but we will be more than happy to have them for the screening,” confides Raghav.

The film unit chose to release Yatra on February 8, a few months ahead of General Elections in Andhra Pradesh. According to Raghav, no film can influence voters and the outcome of elections. “It’s stupidity to assume that our film would impact elections or a party. It was not the case like some 20 years ago. Voters are smart and they are clear on their mandate. That way, movie houses are not the place where you can influence people,” signs off Raghav.