Om Namo Venkatesaya is not my swan-song: K Raghavendra Rao

Two decades after making a film on Lord Venkateswara (‘Annamayya’), filmmaker K Raghavendra Rao (KRR) chose the same setting Tirupati—this time for ‘Om Namo Venkatesaya’ (‘ONV’). “I had everything in life and I feel blessed to have led such a life. I felt it was time for thanksgiving.

The best way, I thought, was to make a devotional film. I resolved to pass on the legacy that we inherited to the youth. When I have been looking for stories, I could connect with Hathi Ram’s story instantly and I thought it would be a great tale if narrated in the right way.

In the process, I have observed that Tirupati is the place where most youth throng, thus I decided to target that specific audience. I have been working on the script over the past four years. Since it is a story that transpired 500 years back, I have gathered material from various historians, TTD and other literary experts,” the filmmaker describes.

Talking about the experience of shooting the film, he explains, “It was nothing short of a spiritual journey. We shot the film in Chikmagalur and Mahabhaleswar. To bring that divine vibe on to the sets, we ensured that all the cast and crew sports Lord Venkateswara scarf.

The experience while shooting for scenes where God interacts with Hathi Ram was touching. I did not say cut to several scenes because I was carried away with the way Nagarjuna went about his job. Also, we had the divine blessings too – while there was a heavy downpour in the city during last rainy season, there was none at our location (RFC). After seeing the film, I believe people will start looking Tirupati in a different way.”

Rao says he that took cinematic liberties for greater connect. “Historically, Annamayya first went on to climb the Tirupati hills at the age 15. But I dramatised it and showed it when Nag (who played Annamayya) grew old. Also, I have dramatised the climax of ‘Annamayya’ -- depicting lord Venkateswara coming out of his abode. That scene was regarded as the best ever, and it happened so because I took cinematic liberties.

Similarly, I had to dramatise several things for ‘ONV’ too in order to inspire people towards divine path.” So how different is this film from ‘Annamayya’? “In ‘Annamayya’ the story was purely told from a devotee’s perspective but ‘ONV’ is told from the God’s perspective, and so the title.”

Casting actor Saurabh Jain for the role of Lord Venkateswara, he admits, was a bit tricky. “We did not want to cast Suman to beat the routine. After extensive search, we zeroed in on Saurabh. But initially he was reluctant as he felt he might get typecast. Later, Nag convinced him,” he points out, adding, “The reason I picked Nag was because I believe people can only assume and accept him as a devotee.

Had he said no to the script, the film wouldn’t have happened, but mind you convincing him was easier said than done,” KRR smiles. Reacting to the buzz is that ‘ONV’ would be his swan-song, he clarified, “It might be the last film in devotional genre, but certainly not my last film. I will keep making films as long as I can, if God willing,”