My selfishness inspired the script

Director Maruthi, the double entendre specialist of Tollywood, has made his presence felt in the industry with a style of his own. From youthful films he ventured into the horror-comedy genre with ‘Prema Katha Chitram’ and now, to lure family audiences, his latest to hit the screens, Allu Sirish and Regina-starrer ‘Kottha Janta’ has successfully completed two weeks in the theatres, and is running towards collection of profits. Here are excerpts from an interview with the director:

What’s the word on ‘Kottha Janta’?

I didn’t give any interviews soon after the movie released because I wanted to wait till the film completed two weeks and see how the response was. There was a sense of fear in me because it was a new kind of film.

So was the result unexpected?

This is a different film from me. So I knew that youngsters, the general audience for my films, will surely be disappointed. There is no ‘heat’ like in my previous films. I had even warned the distributors that the film will have a slow start but will pick up from the second week – just like my film ‘Prema Katha Chitram’. The film has broken even in this time period and from now it will get on the profit mode.

Who is the inspiration for the selfish characters of the protagonists in the film?

Myself! I am a very selfish person. I always want me and those around me to be happy.

What are your next projects?

I am working on a few scripts right now. I read on a few websites about my projects with Nithiin and Naga Chaitanya. But nothing has been confirmed yet. I just narrated a line to Nithiin and he liked it and that’s about it. Nothing happened further. However, if I have the chance, I would love to work with everyone. Even my project with Venkatesh had to be postponed due to the delay of ‘Kottha Janta’.

Also ‘Lovers’ will have its audio release soon.

What about the Hindi remake of ‘Prema Katha Chitram’?

Talks are on with production houses and the cast will also be finalised soon. I will be directing the film myself.

Being a director and producer, is it stressful?

There was a time when I was jobless… for nearly 10 years. Managing multiple things feels great now and I try to keep myself busy.