I want to make god smile today!

Dreams…. I was wondering. What do you dream of? I would love to know. Please share. My dreaming created an ambition in me. By the way, I have decided that no matter how corny, how preposterous, how silly: I will share my thoughts with the least amount of filtering. ☺

My dream is to have a presence in Hyderabad, London and Los Angeles. My dream life would be directing Commercials/ Music Videos/ Features on the three continents. My actions and steps right now are to facilitate that. I believe that dreams are the start, then comes interpreting them, and then making a decision. That decision becomes an intent. And intent creates magic! Have an honest intent in life and providence will come to you! That faith brought me to Hyderabad.

My friends were surprised. Why are you moving from U.S and heading to India? They could not understand why I would be interested in “song n dance” movies. I actually love them, when done tastefully. I think “song n dance” can say things that cannot be articulated in a dialogue or scene. It is also escapist in nature and I am an escapist. I hope that my films will allow people to escape to a fun zone. Hopefully, as I mature as a filmmaker, my films will make them think and be more than just escapist fares. I am not interested in “different Telugu cinema” but am interested in a doing “Telugu cinema differently”. At least that is the intent. I am hoping that if I am not able to do that in the first movie, then at least, I have taken a step in the right direction with it.

I thought it would be great to start the journey in Andhra Pradesh. Telugu culture and film industry has a lot to offer to world cinema. I thought, it would be great to create a bridge between Andhra and the International world. What this would do is that, it would create an atmosphere where there is a flow of ideas/ thoughts/ sensibilities between the worlds. That would be an awesome atmosphere to play creatively. That kind of infusion is being seen in Mumbai, and also in Chennai and I can feel that Hyderabad is braced for it. I am hoping I can be part of creating that atmosphere. I know there are other filmmakers embarking on similar adventures. It would be great if prominent actors and producers embrace this journey. Does that mean that the kind of films we are making now will change or need to be stopped? The answer is NO! We just need to allow 20% of newness to start creeping in. 80% can be and should as is because it is sustaining the industry.

I would love to see movies that do justice to the box-office in Andhra and are able to play internationally. By internationally, I do not mean to the NRI audience. I am talking of people from other countries watching our Telugu films. Internationally we seem to have used the sensationalist attitude to reach out (poverty/ prostitution/ child labor etc). I am interested in putting out masti (fun) films like Taxi (French movie), Transporter etc. As you can see I am taking the reference of Luc Besson-produced-films. He is my idol! That is a space I am exploring. I have written 3 scripts for this space. These scripts have been pitched and interest has been shown by actors who have box-office guarantees. That is a start. I am hoping that they can also be made in the right manner. Well, the intent is there. Let see what designs await that intent. I hope to play in this space for a couple of years.

Post Telugu films, I would love to come back to two scripts of mine that are in an international space. One of them is a drama and the other is an apocalyptic thriller that is set in Bhimavaram: India, Hamburg: Germany and a small boutique museum in Soho neighborhood of New York. This kind of mixing of countries and cultures has always fascinated me. It provides a great canvas for cinema. I love how movies like Babel and The wedding party, blended lives, visuals, sounds from different cultures to tell a universal story.

The great joy would be to work with technicians and artists from Andhra and all over the globe. I am trying to see If I can mix interns from U.S film schools and the existing Andhra film fraternity. I am also trying to see if it is possible to rope in filmmakers into production space. Is it possible to get a technician from Minneapolis to collaborate with someone in Andhra? Am not sure of the answers. But am trying to gear such collaborations for future endeavors.

Of-course the next step is Hollywood films. This platform does not make the best movies possible but they do make movies that are widely watched. And I shamelessly admit that I would love my movies to be watched by the widest audience possible. I tend to write keeping that mind. i.e. emotions and actions that can connect to a range of audience.

So, the dream spot is: I am telling stories via 30 seconds (commercials) 3 minutes (music videos) 2 hours (features) in a global village!

Well, of-course, they also say that if you want god to laugh, just share your plans. I hope I made him smile though!
Ciao, Raj