But there is another side to the argument. “Whenever I am travelling by train and buy something to eat or drink, the hawkers refuse to take any money. So many people come up to say nice things about my films. I find that really humbling,” he says. “Most new comers be it filmmakers or actors dream about being accepted by the masses. At the same time most mass directors crave to be a Mani Ratnam. Now isn’t that asking for too much?” he breaks into a guffaw.
Veteran director EVV Satyanarayana hails from his village and no conversation is complete without a mandatory mention of the director. “I wanted people to talk about me in the same breath and that is what attracted me to a career in cinema,” he explains. Watching movies was an all consuming passion for him. “My college was in Kovvuru. But all I did when in intermediate was religiously watch every film that released and go back
“We rented a small penthouse. I used to hang out with the likes of Nallamalapu Bujji, Vasu Varma (Josh), Dolly, Surender Reddy all the time. Sometimes there would be almost 25 people lying around in the room. It was quite a journey.” Then he worked as an assistant director with Sagar for a lot films. After nine years of apprenticeship he finally got a break with Aadi. “My stint with Sagar was a huge learning experience. I was assigned to coordinate with writers like Vinay (Amma
I was the president of Chiranjeevi fans association in my village.
Talking about appreciation, VV Vinayak is one of the very few directors who get a standing ovation at public gatherings that is on par with the stars in his films. Vinayak, though, refuses to bask in the glory. “Eighty per cent of the applause comes from the fans of the stars who are pleased with how I presented their favourite star in my films,” he shrugs it off. “That is why I believe I am extremely lucky. I sometimes wonder what I have done to deserve such love and affection. I have just made some good films. Everything seems like a dream to me at times. I am not highly educated and come from a small village. It is quite flattering to receive such adulation. If being called a mass director has negative connotations, so be it,” he argues. Guess you cannot please everybody, can you? Modest beginnings For somebody who was born in a small village like Chagalla, Vinayak has travelled a long way and perhaps that has something to do with the way people relate to his success. It is quite an inspirational story. Vinayak is very attached to his village. His parents and brothers still live there. “When a film of mine does well it’s almost like a carnival in my village,” he shares. It was quite a childhood he had in Chagalla. His father was an exhibitor and distributor. He owned a movie theatre called Veera Venkata Vinayaka Talkies. “My dad, Krishna Rao owned 12-13 theatres in east and west Godavari. So I always had a special inclination towards films. I was crazy about them. I handled the projector and sold tickets for shows. After the last show I would gather with friends in a tent and watch my favourite scenes over and over again,” shares Vinayak.
home.” No wonder he had an attendance shortfall! Family crisis He had to give up his studies as his father suffered a huge financial loss. It was quite an ordeal, he recollects. “There was a time when we were the only family in village who owned a car. But my father suffered huge losses in the business and we lost everything. It was a very tough time. I pray nobody faces such hardships in their lives.” Vinayak was forced to discontinue his studies. But he had discovered his calling and it was going to be films. But he had to convince his father who did not like the idea. The reason? “Well, my dad felt I would not find good marriage proposals as people had a lot of misgivings about the film industry,” he laughs. Eventually his father gave in and Vinayak embarked on his tryst with destiny. Those days the film industry was mostly based in Chennai and Vinayak, all of 20, headed to Chennai with dreams in his eyes. It was quite an experience for him. “I had never been to a major city in my life until then and honestly, was blown away. We all have seen films in which the hero finds himself dumbfounded by the city life and Madras had the same effect on me,” he shares in a lighter vein. Hyderabad He reached Film Nagar, Hyderabad in 1993 and worked as an apprentice under EVV Satyanarayana. That was when he was doing Abbayigaru. “Filmnagar had a totally different vibe about it then. There were very few houses and the beautiful rock formations gave it a special character,” he says recalling his first impression of the city. “The first biryani I ate was in Bawarchi,” adds.
donga), LB Sriram etc. This is where I developed a script sense,” reminisces Vinayak. Meeting the megastar Ask him about the happiest moment in his film career, “Meeting Chiranjeevi for the first time,” pat comes the reply. “I was the president of Chiranjeevi fans association in my village. All through my years as an assistant director I never got to meet him. So when he invited me over to his house to discuss Tagore it gave me goose bumps. I still remember for the first 15 minutes I was in a trance and had gone mute,” he explains. He did more than meet him. VV Vinayak directed Chiranjeevi in Tagore, in 2003. The film was a record breaking success and established him as a big ticket director. “It was quite overwhelming to see the response from the audience and the congratulatory calls just kept pouring in.” Badrinath Vinayak has just signed up to make a film with Geetha Arts, starring Allu Arjun. The film’s already creating quite a buzz in tinsel town. “The film is called Badrinath. It is too early to talk about it. All I can say is that it is a gripping love story. I have high hopes on the film,” he signs off.