It’s my film; let me make it my way: Raaja Kiran

Starting his career as a professional photographer in Kaikaluru, Krishna district, director Raaja Kiran has come a long way. Entering into the industry in late 90s, he assisted for a bunch of films before deciding to go on his own with ‘Geetanjali’. While it’s another story that many producers, who evinced interest to produce the horror-comedy, didn’t finally, writer Kona Venkat and producer MVV Satyanarayana came to his rescue and financed the film. The box-office triumph (of it) was such that he commenced ‘Tripura’, a horror thriller, starring Swathi in the titular role in no time.

Ask him if he is not worried of being branded as a horror-comedy maker and he responds, “People who stamp me don’t provide my bread and butter, right? It is my film and let me make it my way. If I come across a plot line and if I feel audience will lap it up—irrespective of the genre – I will do it. I don’t follow the typical path of songs and action sequences,” he asserts.

The director follows three golden rules while making a film: to arrest the viewers in the first 15 minutes itself, an explosive interval bang and an unexpected climax. “Only after I complete penning these aspects of a script, I will shift focus to other portions,” he confides.

Like ‘Geetanjali’, which drew inspiration from Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Tripura’ too had a reference point. “Long time back I watched a crime drama and it has always stayed with me. I gave it a unique spin and peppered it with horror and comedy,” he smiles, clearly refraining from naming the film that inspired him. “You know what happens if I mention the name, don’t you?”

‘Tripura’ has been wrapped in 54 days flat and he credits it for planning and his vision. “After conceiving the concept, we prepared the script and dialogues in two months. We invested six months in pre-production which continued while filming too,” he states, adding, “Once I lock the script, there won’t be any corrections on location. If there are things that need to be addressed, I will sit with my team and attend them at the earliest. Moreover, my dialogues don’t extend beyond two pages.”

While he was a bundle of nerves days before ‘Geetanjali’ opened in screens, he is quite the opposite now– relaxed and brimming with confidence. The confidence stems from the fact that he sees the film as a sure-shot. “The business has been good. The positive word of mouth about the film spread to distributors during the filming itself, prompting them to acquire it,” he laughs.

Up next, while he has rustled up a couple of scripts, he is not in a hurry. “I should like the producer with whom I team up. I can compromise on the budget but I don’t want them to meddle into the script and the creative aspects,” he signs off.

By Nagaraj Goud