Directors turn songsters?

Although love triangles, comedy, sentiment, drama and daredevilry are the ingredients of most Tollywood films, the song-and-dance sequences are what capture the imagination of the audience in this three-hour-long extravaganza.
In response, Tollywood directors are stepping up their efforts to meet audience expectation and hold their interest.
The new trend in Tollywood is that filmmakers are enlisting the help of experienced and successful film directors for directing musical numbers.For instance, Dasarath while directing the film Swagatham approached Krishna Vamsi for directing a song sequence. "He's superb at directing romantic songs. What's wonderful about his films is that they have good music and dance numbers.
When I approached him, he readily agreed," he says. Interestingly, Krishna Vamsi is the director who started this trend. And ironically he is now in demand for directing songs! He has directed songs for films like Nagaram and Okkadunnadu.
Another director in demand is Raghavendra Rao, who is known for his period films. He's directed the songs in film Krishna Arjuna. The reason for the popularity and demand for these is because they are believed to have "the magic touch". "I requested Krishna Vamsi to direct a song for Nagaram because I know his caliber. His songs have the Krishna Vamsi touch - the angles, lighting, expressions and the dance movements are special. No wonder, his songs like Kannullo Nee Roopame from Ninne Pelladata and Nuvve Nuvvu from Khadgam are all hits," says actor Srikanth.
Apart from imparting that special quality to the song-and dance sequences in the film, outsourcing this aspect of film making to other directors with the flair for it, helps the director of the film to concentrate on production work. "Action, music and dance numbers are important elements in Tollywood cinema. It's a big relief to enlist the help of an expert director who also understands choreography. This helps filmmakers to concentrate on the production work," says Dasarath.
Some actors too swear by this new trend and think that it's the best thing that's happened to Tollywood. "The credit of making me look glamorous in the song sequence goes to Krishna Vamsi. Though I had to spend a whole day in water, the song came out so well, that I get appreciation to this day," says Kaveri Jha.
Sources from the industry tell us that, many more film directors are growing interested in exclusively directing songs. So the new trend is picking up as Tollywood is opening up avenues for film directors to offer their expertise in particular aspects of film making.