Venky Atluri: Hoping Vaathi would do the same kind of numbers as Varisu

Back in the 90s and the 80s, one director used to do only one particular genre all their career. Now, things have changed. One can do different things, and people are finding monotony tiresome. So, before this be it Thole Prema or Mr Majnu or Rang De, all the films had a similar structure, the first half will set things up, and in the second half someone will be chasing someone. There were memes about it as well. That was the wake-up call. It also came during the lockdown, and I decided I wanted to do something different. People suggested that I do a thriller, and some said horror because it was a rage back then. So, everyone was suggesting this and that, and I wanted to mute it all and ask myself what is that I want to do. I had this idea about the problems of the educational system for a while now. Things like the right to education, commercialisation of education, and all that. That’s when I started to write this film.

What is the reason behind choosing this problem as your conflict for the film?

There was one incident when I was doing my junior college (Higher secondary is called junior college in Telugu states), and I don’t want to reveal the name of the college. Usually, we used to have classes from Monday to Saturday, and on Saturday and Sunday mornings, we used to have tests. There were senior lecturers and junior lecturers. The latter would take care of the tests. Once they had a drill of a kind where the junior lecturers were asked to go to the houses of the students and discuss the student’s academic performance. So, the lecturers were going to the homes of these students, and there was this one student whose house was just an under-construction building. There was nothing to the house except the four walls and sheets wrapped around the walls. That’s when lecturers came to know that the parents of the student were construction workers, who were spending all the money on their son’s education hoping that he would get a state rank, and they chose this college because it had top rankers last year. It was all because of propaganda and commercialisation of education. The propaganda is that a student can only score good grades if he studies in some particular college or school. That was the starting point for this film.

Do you think a film or a series can make an impact and change society?

(Laughs) Ironically, very little. Very very little. We have seen films like Ramana and Shankar sir’s films, which all talk about corruption, but nothing has changed. But if we can bring one percent of change or impact, it is good enough, I think. I am really very disappointed with this answer, to be honest. But that’s the reality.

On the other hand, a lot of issues are created around films saying that they will impact society.

Yes, that’s the sad part of it all.

Why Dhanush for this film?

Because he is the finest actor in the country right now. I didn’t plan for it, but Dhanush sir just happened for this film, and I am grateful for it. Getting the right actor for the role you have written is important because he can reward all the writing that has gone into it. That way I am very happy he did this film.

Dhanush is a director himself. How was it to direct him?

Since he is also a director, he really respects the one sitting in that chair. All he looks for is whether I have the conviction in what I am asking him to do. If he gets that clarity, he won’t involve himself with anything. Of course, he would give some suggestions because it is bilingual, and I am not well-versed in Tamil. So, all his suggestions have been really helpful for the film.

Anudeep did a Tamil film with Siva Karthikeyan, Vamshi with Vijay, and now you are doing one with Dhanush… is this a trend?

I think the whole industry is changing. Tamil directors are working in Telugu as well. Kannada directors are in Telugu. Atlee sir is doing a Shah Rukh Khan film, so the industry is kind of becoming one. But Prince, Varisu, and Vaathi happening in a gap of six months is just a coincidence. I had a word with Vamshi sir, and I am happy with the numbers Varisu did, and I am hoping for the same numbers for Vaathi as well.