Debutant director Sujana Rao reveals how urbanization and the annual deluge during monsoon are the backdrop to the stories in her Telugu film ‘Gamanam’.
“It will not be an exaggeration to say that Baarish has played a part in my film and I dedicate this project to the memories of monsoon from my childhood,” says first time director Sujana Rao discussing her Telugu film anonymity, Will release in cinemas on December 10 anonymity Stars Shriya Saran, Shiva Kandukuri, Priyanka Jawalkar, Suhas, Charuhasan and Nithya Menon (in a cameo). The anthology film, produced by cinematographer Gyan Shekhar VS along with Venky Pusadapu and Ramesh Karuturi, explores how the characters of the three stories deal with floods after torrential rains.
This premise seems relevant given how low-lying floods in Hyderabad have become an annual feature. Susanna recalls, “A few years back when I was studying at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), we used to go to a nearby reservoir and take pictures. Later we saw that the area turned into a construction site. Every year when Hyderabad or Chennai floods, we read how it is a man-made disaster, because water bodies are encroached upon in the name of urban development. This wrote me anonymity, I wanted to know how it affects people of different age groups, from an infant to an elderly person, to represent the cycle of life. ,
rain stories
Susannah sat down to write one night in 2018 and finished part of the story. He shared the draft with Gyan Shekhar, with whom he had collaborated for ad films. Impressed by the story, the cinematographers came forward to produce it. Over the next three months, Susannah completed the story and screenplay.
anonymity Filmed in 2019 and post production took place during the pandemic. The producers were looking forward to a theatrical release: “I am grateful for their faith in the project,” says Susannah.
Rajendra Prasad’s films were produced by his father Gottimukkala Padma Rao. April 1 Vidudal (1991) and Joker (1993). Susanna recalls, “I was in fifth grade when I went to a film set and saw everyone respect the person sitting in the director’s chair. I wanted to be in that position growing up.”
However, as she got older, her ambitions kept changing. She once wanted to become a Chartered Accountant. But the creative streak was there all along. She enjoyed creating sculptures from different perspectives and taking pictures of a subject: “Which helped me with storyboarding anonymity,
steadfast approach
His family was skeptical about his making a career in cinema. So he did a diploma course in NIFT Hyderabad. She moved to Delhi on the pretext of higher studies and worked with filmmakers coming from other countries and learned editing. Rather than the structured approach of the curriculum at an institution, it was an unrestricted way of working: “I wanted to learn the craft of editing and filmmaking, so I would travel and learn with directors to shoot their work.”
Returning to Hyderabad, he directed ad films and, in the process, met Gyan Shekhar: “He is full of ideas and encourages newcomers. I saw him urge someone to write a story and get inspired.”
Nithya Menon as classical singer in the film
In the case of anonymity, her writing process was fast because she felt like stories were waiting to be told. The cast and crew were finalized with the help of Gyan Shekhar. Editor Ramakrishna Aram, dialogue writer Sai Madhav Burra and others were included. Nithya Menon stepped out for a cameo appearance as a classical singer.
In the middle of narrating the story to Shriya Saran, he felt that he had found Kamala. Shriya plays Kamala, a young hearing-impaired mother who has to fix it on her own. Shiva Kandukuri is an aspiring cricketer backed by Priyanka Jawalkar.
Charuhasan agreed to play a key role and Suzannah recalls how the veteran actor, now in his 90s, had to play for the film due to heavy rains: “I feel bad requesting him for another take. Looks like when a co-actor wasn’t sentimental at all. But he never held back.” She also praises the efforts of Priyanka Jawalkar, Siva Kandukuri and other actors in the ensemble cast, including two boys who were chosen to play street kids. His scenes in the trailer may be reminiscent of a Tamil film Kaka Muttai, where street children crave expensive treatment, but Sujana says the similarities end there.
maestro’s music
Shriya Saran plays the role of a hearing impaired young mother in the film
The icing on the cake was getting Ilaiyaraaja to compose music: “He said he doesn’t take up a project if he doesn’t like the story. I had told most of the story, but before I could finish it, he stood up and asked a team member to take a picture of the two of us. He commented, ‘We are doing the film’. I was overjoyed.”
Later, looking at the rough cut of the film, Ilaiyaraaja remarked that the film depicts life-like situations and he could not move from his seat watching the second half: “It was the biggest compliment for me. He also asked if it was a big budget film, as it had many flood scenes.
She explains that the film required very little help from visual effects, as many important scenes were shot during monsoon.
As the release date nears, Susanna is more excited than nervous: “As a kid, I used to be fascinated by the stories my grandmother told me. I am glad that I got a chance to tell the story on the big screen.”
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