I’m scared to pen my next: Avasarala

Despite featuring the likes of Nara Rohith, Naga Shourya and Regina, Srinivas Avasarala’s ‘Jo Achyutananda’, which released last Friday, opened to not so great numbers. But the actor-filmmaker seems to be least concerned about the trade.

“We are happy with the way it opened. I really don’t know the numbers. In fact, I don’t understand them in the first place. For my first film ‘Oohalu Gusagusalade’, the opening was very cold,” he recalls with a smile.

“Producer Sai Korrapati is very happy with ‘Jo Achytunanda’s collections. He gave me a big hug after the first show.”

The film made its way to the screens three weeks after the audio was unveiled, ruling out promotions on a large scale. Was he made to rush with the release? Avasarala informs that he wasn’t and September 9 was the best day possible date. “We couldn’t move to October because some biggies have already booked their berth, so we locked September 9. Actually we wanted to arrive on September 2 but since ‘Janatha Garage’ was deferred from August 12 to September 1, we had to arrive on September 9,” he clarifies, admitting that the post-production phase was tough. “We were working literally 20 hours a day to get the film release on time. Although I like being in the studio while artistes dub, I couldn’t devote much time on dubbing this time around as I had to supervise other departments too.”

Speaking at a promotional event of the film in Hyderabad on Wednesday, Avasarala noted about how he felt the film would not do well as he submitted its footage to the editor. Ask him what made him to comment on those lines and he admits that mood in the Vaarahi camp was dull as they had tasted back-to-back failures. “There were insecurities about how my lead actors were shown as married individuals and whether Telugu audience would embrace it or not. But once I started receiving positive messages on social media upon release, all the negativity disappeared,” he exults.

He points out that he always had faith in audience judgment and that they will never disown a good story executed well. “I always believed that audiences are way smarter than we give them credit for. The thing is when you start a film with good intentions and end up making a bad film, you can’t criticise the audience, saying they don’t appreciate good cinema. There‘s a difference between good intentions and well made cinema; it’s not just good intentions; you have to translate your intentions on-screen appropriately. And that’s what I always believed. They accepted ‘Sankarabaranam’, ‘Ashta Chamma’, ‘#Pellichoopulu’ and they will continue to accept more in the future too.”

Ever since ‘Jo Achytunanda’ released, Avasarala’s Facebook page has been flooded with compliments, with many comparing him to accomplished writers like Jandhyala and Trivikram. Put that to him and he smiles, “I feel pressurised. I’m just two-films-old. It’s really tough to deliver on a superior level every time. When I wrote my first film, I didn’t know that I would be able to write for another movie. But I did. And now that I’m done with my second film, I’m really scared about another movie. It’s tough yaar.”

Given his brand of cinema, would he be testing his luck in Bollywood too? He admits that he was offered to direct Hindi version of ‘Oohalu Gusagusalade’ but as things didn’t move forward from both the parties, the plan was aborted.

“Moreover, I don’t feel like making the same movie again. For me once you complete writing the movie, you’ve already seen it in your head. Later you just need to translate your vision on screen with cinematic tools. If you want to remake it, you are making it twice and it’s really tiresome. But I’m ready to direct a fresh script,” Avasarala, who would join the sets of ‘Hunterrr’ remake on Friday, signs off.