T’wood pulls up its socks

For controlling sky-rocketing production costs and saving time, many in the Telugu cinema industry have taken recourse to a rigorous and meticulous pre-production process. It is not only helping producers cut down on expenses but is also helping them wrap up the film in an envisioned time. Hans Talkies explores…

Filmmaker Puri Jagganadh has always been synonymous with finishing films at a breakneck speed and his upcoming film ‘Jyothi Lakshmi’ too is no different as it was wrapped up in 37 days flat. And it seems Puri is the flag bearer for many other directors today who are putting in lot of background work to ensure their film is wrapped up on time.

“The cost of production is escalating because the right pre-production procedures are not followed. Some producers are going to sets without clarity on the script resulting in increase in the number of shooting days which in turn affects the budget. For ‘Jyothi Lakshmi’ we took ample time on pre-production to make sure that the shoot goes according to the schedule,” shares Charmme who has turned producer with the film.

Her views are reflected by national award winning director Praveen Sattaru who says that he has always believed in diligent and thorough planning because that facilitates in speedy completion of films. “If you know what you exactly want and have a bound script ready, that’s enough to ensure your plan falling in place,” he asserts. The director shot his next ‘Guntur Talkies’ in a really short time of 23 days and he tells us it was all possible because of two months of meticulous pre-production.

But it isn’t just that. Raj Madiraju, director of ‘Andhra Pori’, maintains that pre-production is not just a way to curb costs. “For our film, we had intense workshops; our actors trained in accents and had practice sessions. By the time we began shooting, everyone knew the other’s dialogues and that in a sense saved lot of time.” He adds, “It is a very long period of pre-production that ensured we completed shoot in a month.”

Charmme believes that despite the hugeness of the film, it is possible to shoot films in a very short span of time. “Our film boasts of senior artistes like Brahmanandam, had outdoor shoots (Goa) and was a regular Tollywood film with dance and fight sequences but Puri’s team was aware what sequences they were shooting for the day, enabling us to wrap up on the film way before time,” she reflects.

The support from the cast, says Praveen, is also extremely important. “If everyone comes to the sets on time, that’s the biggest helping factor.” Producer Sai Korrapati whose film ‘Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya’ was wrapped up in a quick pace too says, “When your vision is clear, it is possible. Yes, planning is important but what is also required is that filmmakers allot time based on priorities.”

From the time when filmmakers took 100 to 120 days to wrap up a film, Tollywood has certainly come a long way. Interestingly big stars too are no longer interested in investing months together on a project. With Mahesh Babu and Ram Charan insisting that their upcoming films‘Brahmotsavam’ and ‘Supreme’ (tentative title) – are wrapped up under 100 days, it looks like this producer-friendly’ trend is the way ahead.

- with inputs from Nagaraj Goud

By Pranita Jonnalagedda