I miss MS and Dharmavarapu every day: Sreenu Vaitla

Writing comedy is no cakewalk but director Sreenu Vaitla has mastered the knack of tickling the funny bone of the audiences with ease over the years. Ahead of his forthcoming release ‘Bruce Lee’, the filmmaker talks about working with Ram Charan, changing his storytelling ‘template’ and missing some actors who have been an integral part of his earlier films.

Charan’s comic skills to the fore

Ask the director on why he roped in Charan for his style of films, he says, “I’ve always tried to get the right actor for the right role and that stands true for this film as well. I believed Charan was the best fit for the role of Karthik in the film.”

Elaborating on how he convinced the actor to be a part of the project he explains, “The novelty in the story’s premise got Charan’s attention. The narrative style and the story is a perfect blend of humour and punch dialogues. His role is interestingly etched and his comic timing will be one of the major highlights in the film.”

Sreenu describes his work experience with Charan as great and memorable. “He is one of the most committed actors I have ever worked with. He is supportive.” But working with Chiranjeevi for the project was the icing on the cake for him. “Undoubtedly, it is the best moment. Watching him through the lens again was simply amazing. He is megastar and his character will take one back to ‘Gang Leader’ days,” he exults.

Change in guard

His earlier bunch of comic capers endorsed Sreenu’s abilities as an entertainer. However, his brand of cinema came in for much ridicule from critics after ‘Aagadu’ bombed. The film’s writing was labeled as an overdose of formulistic writing. “I broke the mould from my regular satirical comedy and only changed the technique of storytelling; but retained the entertainment quotient.

I’m confident that the new style of narrative will enthrall the audience in ‘Bruce Lee’,” he asserts. While their apparent differences were the point of discussion when they teamed up, the filmmaker reveals that he's happy to have associated with Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan again.

The duo, who collaborated with the director for super hit flicks like ‘Ready’, ‘Dookudu’ and ‘Baadshah’, has penned the ‘Bruce Lee’s script and dialogues. “I'm glad to have them on board again, after a brief spell. We share a great camaraderie.Our thought process and wavelength were always on the same page. We delivered many super hits in the past, and we hope to recreate the magic," he added.

Missing MS and Dharmavarapu

Sreenu acknowledges missing late actors MS Narayana and Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, who were instrumental in elevating the entertainment levels in his earlier films. “Yeah, I badly miss them and think of them every day. They are very close to me and I have written special roles for them in my previous films. It’s a huge loss personally as well. They are irreplaceable,” he laments.

By Sashidhar Adivi