#BehindTheCamera! Director Hari Kolagani: I fell in love with movies when I was very young

Hari Kolagani is all set to make his

directorial debut

with the upcoming film '

Shikaaru

.' The release date of the movie hasn’t been revealed yet. The film is produced by PSR Kumar (Babji) under his home banner Sri Sai Lakshmi Creations. As part of the

#BehindTheCamera

series, we, at ETimes Telugu, had a candid chat with Hari Kolagani in which he spoke about the film, the shooting experience, the ticket price issue in AP, Telugu cinema, and much more. Excerpts:



When did your journey in the film industry begin?
I was born and brought up in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. I did my post-graduation in

Master of Computer Applications

(MCA) but have always been passionate about films since my college days. Instead of joining the job after completing my studies, I started working as an assistant director for filmmaker

Shyam Prasad Reddy

garu. I worked on several films made under the banner of Shyam Prasad Reddy’s Mallemala Entertainments - one among them is Anushka Shetty’s 'Arundhati' and I was one of the associate directors of the film. I was also involved in story discussions of several films.

When did you get your first chance as a director?
After struggling for several odd years, I got an opportunity to direct a film called 'Shikaaru.' I narrated a story to the distributor Babji garu, and he made a decision to produce the film. It’s his debut production venture. I thought that the reason for my delay to get an opportunity as a director was the change in the Telugu film industry. Be it Bollywood or Kollywood, a trend of coming-of-age films began, and the audiences accepted this trend in the early 2000s. But when it comes to Tollywood, it was too late. The Telugu audience started accepting the new trend in the late 2000s. Many producers didn’t encourage my ideas then because new talent wasn’t always encouraged. Things are very different now than they used to be.

Who is your inspiration to become a director?
As I said earlier, I fell in love with movies when I was very young. I would go see any type of movie. But I was inspired to be a filmmaker after watching a film by director Shankar. His film 'Gentleman' changed me. I lived in a kind of stupor for the next couple of days after watching the film. Then I went deep with his films. After coming to the film industry, I started loving films rather than people.

What is your take on new ticket rates issued by the AP government?
Either the government or the film industry is not thinking technically about the ticket rates. In my opinion, it would be good to have variable rates for movies. There should be a difference between small films and big-budget films. The ticket rates shouldn’t be the same for both. People would come out on weekends but not during the weekdays and there are no prominent footfalls for medium- and small-budget films, especially during the weekdays. And many shows are cancelling due to low footfall. Middle class people can’t afford high ticket prices though.

Tell us something about 'Shikaaru'
'Shikaaru' is a complete comedy entertainer which tells the story of a married woman finding love outside her marriage. The rules in India have often been different for men and women. But I feel that rules should be the same for both. The

human rights of men and women

are equally respected. The film points out extramarital affairs, reveals that women are not rare pieces of meat and a woman’s desire is equally important as that of a man. The film will be high on situational comedy - I got inspired by the screenplays of Mahesh Babu’s 'Pokiri,' Nandamuri Kalyanram’s 'Patas,' and Anushka Shetty’s 'Arundhati' while penning the story for my film.

What are the attractions in your movie?
I have confidence in my film because of the star cast. My faith was strengthened when

Kannada Kishore

garu came on board and words couldn't do justice to Sai Dhansika's talent. She is a good artist. Abhinav Medisetty, Tej Kurapati, Dheeraj Aathreya and Navakanth are talented actors, and you will see how they nail their characters on screen. We shot the film in Ramoji Film City for over 20 days in a specially erected set. It’s a big deal for a small film to be shot in the film city but we managed to do it. Sid Sriram has sung a song, which will be one of the major highlights of the film. It was unveiled recently and struck a right chord with the listeners. Thus, we have several attractions in my film, and I’m sure you will be amazed.

Sai Dhansika’s role in 'Shikaaru' is in contrast to her previous films. Then, how did you convince her to cast in the film?
I haven't watched any film of Sai Dhansika so far. That’s an advantage for me. I know she has starred in Rajinikanth’s 'Kabali' and some other action films. But I saw some of her photos, which were clicked in the early stages of her career. She was the girl next door that I was looking for. I thought that Sai Dhansika would be apt to play the character of an innocent housewife in 'Shikaaru', and I was fixed. Even she loved the character when I was narrating the story to her. The response to the trailer has been great! Sai Dhansika will be seen at her comic best in the film.