Debut director Supreet C Krishna’s Telugu hyperlink drama hinges on the idea that change is constant
telugu feature film alanti sitralu, which will premiere on Zee5 on September 24, is a hyperlinked drama following the journey of four characters and marks the directorial debut of Supreet C Krishna. The film stars Shweta Parashar, Yash Puri, Ajay Kathurvar and Praveen Yendamuri.
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“alanti sitralu Sees how things take a dramatic turn when four people with different needs in life cross paths,” says Supreet. A singer-guitarist, who is yet to find any direction in his career, meets a sex worker who yearns to lead a normal life. He falls in love with an old gangster who after losing his wife wants to redeem himself for the sake of his daughter. The fourth character is an amateur boxer struggling with psychological issues.
The story began to take shape when Supreet began to build on the idea that change is constant: “I started writing individual character arcs and stories. When they cross paths, their lives change.”
Writing a hyperlinked story for his debut film, Supreet was aware that the format is not often explored in Telugu and Tamil cinema. “But I was very confident about the story. Maybe I was too naive to think about the dynamics of the business,” he says.
Supreet says that he was inclined towards the creative field, though initially it was not clear to him what this would have to do with cinema. He hails from a village near Chittoor and did his B.Tech in Thanjavu. “I grew up learning both Telugu and Tamil. I watched movies and read a lot of books, and sometimes enjoyed writing. Much later, when I got a job in a multinational company, I realized that I was not keen on a corporate career. When I thought about the creative side, cinema seemed like an obvious place where I could express myself as a writer,” he says.
He applied to Annapurna College of Film and Media, Hyderabad. He says learning the ropes of screenwriting and directing opened up his perspective. “I was thrilled about the technical craft involved in filmmaking. Back home, my parents got suspicious. They are academics and their fears were warranted. But if I hadn’t taken the risk in my early 20s, I probably wouldn’t have done it until later.”
When he decided to write and direct a feature film, he sought the help of film consultant and journalist K Raghavendra Reddy, who directed him for producer Rahul Reddy. “As soon as we started working, everything came together. I have known the crew members Ashwath Shivakumar (editor and sound designer), Karthik Saikumar (cinematographer) and Santhu Omkar (composer) for a few years now,” says Supreet.
After a casting call, applications came for his film and after audition the actors were selected. Says Supreet, “The sex worker part was the most difficult to cast. He eventually picked Delhi’s Sweta Parashar, who has worked in theater productions. The cast had to go through a pre-production workshop before the film went on floors.
The team worked on post-production at Annapurna Studios in mid-2020, when it had yet to formally open post lockdown, and was slated for a theatrical release in the summer of 2021. The second wave of COVID-19 forced a change in plans. And alanti sitralu Will see a digital release now.
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