With just six movies he has made so far, director Krish has earned a special recognition in Tollywood. His latest release, Nandamuri Balakrishna’s landmark 100th movie Gautamiputra Satakarni, released for Sankranthi and is running to packed houses. Krish expressed his happiness over the film’s success in a candid interview. Here are the excerpts:
Q) How has the response been for Gautamiputra Satakarni?
A) It’s been fabulous. We have always wanted to release the movie for Sankranthi and succeeded in reaching the expectations of all sections of audience. I wholeheartedly thank them for making the film a huge hit.
Q) What is the best compliment you have received for GPSK?
A) I watched the movie’s benefit show with Balakrishna sir. Soon after the screening, Balayya sir shook my hands tightly and said we have made a good film. That’s when I got total confidence about the movie’s success. Also, I immediately watched the morning show with my wife. She appreciated the movie saying that even though I didn’t spend much time with her after our marriage I made a wonderful movie. That’s the best compliment I have received.
Q) How did Tollywood respond to the film?
A) The response from the film fraternity has been quite positive. My phone has been ringing continuously since the movie’s release and several star directors, heroes and producers have been calling me and appreciating the movie. Chiranjeevi, Mahesh, Venkatesh, NTR, Nagarjuna and many others have telephoned me and congratulated me on the film’s success.
Q) There have been allegations by a few people about distortion of Satakarni’s history in the movie. What would be your reply to them?
A) Satakarni’s story is at least 2,000 years old and unfortunately there is a very limited research material available about him. We tried to collect all the possible information and prepared the script after discussing with several historians and reading many books. There is always a scope for fiction in such epic historicals, but one can’t allege that the movie is a complete work of fiction. We can’t afford such blunders while showcasing a great warrior emperor’s life, can we?
Q) There were rumours that you have taken a few unused scenes from the Bollywood hit Bajirao Mastani.
A) I felt really bad when I heard the rumours about me buying a few scenes from the makers of Bajirao Mastani. I am really clueless about how such rumours even crop up. We have toiled quite hard to bring out Gautamiputra Satakarni at this scale and creating such false rumours is not justified.
Q) Was there any pressure while helming Balayya’s 100th movie?
A) More than the fact that it was Balayya sir’s 100th movie, the pressure was mainly on whether we would recreate Satakarni’s legacy on the screen. Our team worked quite enthusiastically and gave a superior output. I really appreciate Balayya sir’s passion in choosing a movie like GPSK as his 100th movie. I could never imagine anyone else but Balayya sir as Satakarni and I must thank him for his cooperation throughout the making of this movie.
Q) Rythu was announced as Balayya’s 100th movie initially. How did you manage to convince him for Gautamiputra Satakarni?
A) Somewhere deep inside my heart, I had a wee bit of hope that Balayya sir will okay my script. He okayed the movie and here we are. I don’t think GPSK would have created so much buzz hadn’t it been Balayya sir’s 100th movie.
Q) What sort of confidence did the movie’s success give you?
A) It gave me the confidence to tell different stories in my true style and yet get public’s nod to my movies without sticking to songs and fights ridden commercial potboilers.
Q) There has been a huge buzz about you completing the movie on such a grand scale in just 79 days.
A) Our limited budget, the Sankranthi deadline and the number of days required to complete the movie were the three factors we had in our minds before taking Gautamiputra Satakarni on floors. We divided the movie’s production into four parts. The team was divided into three units and each unit was assigned responsibilities of each part. The main team was busy shooting, while two teams would plan for the next schedules. Such meticulous pre-production ensured that we reached the Sankranthi deadline without any hiccups.
Q) So many stars have been congratulating you on the film’s success. Who among them will be your next hero?
A) (Laughs) I am directing Venkatesh’s 75th movie. Ashwini Dutt will be producing the movie. I am also committed to directing a Bollywood movie after Venky’s project.
