NaChaKi: How did you zero in on casting writer Yandamuri Virendranath gaaru, who's not an actor himself? How did you approach him in the first place and convince him to acting?
Saikiran Adivi: It's the role of an advocate. Thanks to my experience in Sekhar Kammula's direction department, I have this feeling that freshers bring a whole newness to the character. Since I worked with no one else, that's the only film-making style I know. (Laughs) My friend Vijay brought me one day Yandamuri's book "vijayaaniki aidu meTlu", which had his picture on the cover. I saw this real glow in his face there and felt he'd be the right fit to the role. In my opinion, Yandamuri gaaru isn't a fresher really - he's a star writer, of course! The star value and the glow that he carries would be an advantage to the role, I felt, and I approached him directly and told the script briefly after introducing myself and asked him if he'd be interested. You should ask him why or how he got convinced! (Laughs)

NaChaKi: I remember that he mentioned that shooting in his native place Rajole was also one reason...
Saikiran Adivi: Well, he can go to Rajole on his own if he wanted to, of course! It might also be because he liked my approach, the subject, or something. The Rajole feeling might have an added reason too. I am sure he'd not waste a few days doing some cheap role even if it's in Rajole. I am now very happy that the audiences were enjoying his role really well, whenever he appeared on the screen or spoke. I witnessed it myself in Devi 70 mm at Hyderabad and felt glad that I don't need to regret for giving the star writer a bad name after all, with a role I gave him.

NaChaKi: Yandamuri gaaru is a star writer in Telugu films also, and a director too. Like you mentioned earlier, you generally worked with freshers only. Was his experience helpful or problematic during the shoot?
Saikiran Adivi: I developed a good rapport with him even before the shoot started. Interaction with him was like with an uncle or some relative, thanks to his affable approach. Thus, it wasn't tough to deal with him any bit. However, his experience did help me really! There's this dialogue in the climax that Yandamuri gaaru tells Rao Ramesh. I tried to pen that dialogue for 2-3 days but could not frame the content in a proper dialogue. The midnight before shooting that scene, Yandamuri gaaru called me up and said he'd speak it himself in the shot directly and it was exactly what I wanted to tell through that dialogue! One more thing: when we approached him to get his costumes ready, he said we don't need to spend on costumes specially since he already had a well-furnished wardrobe and we could just choose whatever suits the character, so that we can save some of our production costs thus! We both had such familiar interaction between us.

NaChaKi: Some reviews from film websites and audience too seem to say that the heroine Sharanya Mohan is a miscast in the film. Did you not notice that during the shoot? Why did you not actually continue Sonia from Vinayakudu?
Saikiran Adivi: Firstly, the sequel is not a continuation of Vinayakudu, and thus we wanted a fresh face for the heroine. The audience already saw the love story with Sonia and would not easily accept a new story now. Moreover, I needed someone with the looks of a homely girl in a village backdrop but Sonia has this ultra-modern urban looks with her curly hair and all and that wouldn't suit the role. ...I chose Sharanya Mohan for the exact reason that some people are now thinking it's a miscast. There's even a dialogue in the film that goes "nuvvu elakalaa unTaav, vaaDu Enugulaa unTaaDu! mee iddari match elaa accept cheyyamanTaav?". It's a very odd pair and that's the concept of the film itself - that physical appearance doesn't matter and only the mental chemistry between the two individuals is important. Not every girl that marries someone with stunning looks like Hrithik Roshan would be satisfied and the converse is not true either. Mentalities, attitudes, and understanding actually matter in real life, and that's what we wanted to tell in the film too!

NaChaKi: That reminds me of the odd-pair contest that Moon Water Pictures is doing with TeluguCinema.Com. How is the response for the contest?
Saikiran Adivi: I can tell more about the contest in a day or two once we know more details, but the contest is going on. The response is really good until now, though.

NaChaKi: Sam Prasan provided good music for Vinayakudu. Manikanth Kadri is my favorite music director too, but was there a specific reason to change the music director?
Saikiran Adivi: It's not that Sam Prasan doesn't have the right potential. He did a good job for the urban setting of Vinayakudu, but I needed someone who can do a fitting job for the rural setting of this film. I liked Manikanth's style of music, orchestration, etc. and felt he'd be the perfect choice. And, one more reason is that I prefer new technicians each time. If I get into sync with one technician for a film, we could become repetitive and the technician would start giving me just simply what I like instead of his real style of work. Any experimenting can only happen with fresh technicians.

NaChaKi: You received comments for Vinayakudu that the narration was slow. Again, the same comment continued for Village-lo Vinayakudu. Why is it that you and nearly everyone from Sekhar Kammula's school have this slow narration syndrome?
Saikiran Adivi: (Laughs) When we are trying to tell a subject or establish a character, it feels slower. If the pace increases, the sensibilities and emotions that should be carried might not be carried in a justified manner. Say, the protagonist is rough, that he likes the heroine and express his love, that he fought with a gang, spoke to the girl's parents and ran away with the girl, and finally married with their consent... do you see any characterization here?! The pace feels faster when I drive the film fast even before the audience can think, but I believe I am giving my audiences that space to think for themselves about the current scene. ...The so-called Sekhar Kammula school of directors concentrate on character establishment and the likes and thus the pace might seems slow. Some people told me that Vinayakudu was like an in-between for TV serials and movies in its pace (Laughs) but the same people also watched the film multiple times because the character caught up with them well. When we start telling that the protagonist is like this, does this job, has this daily schedule, etc., people might get bored and feel all that is unnecessary. But, if people thought that the film is actually bad because of the slow pace, Vinayakudu would not have got such collections. Even big hits among old classics were this way, if you observe...

NaChaKi: Vinayakudu may have come out successfully, but I think Aavakai-Biryani suffered because of the same reason though the content was good. I was about to bring the example of L.V. Prasad's classic Missamma myself now and you mentioned classics already! That film, for example, doesn't take specific scenes to establish the characters. The characters are well-etched but are revealed as the story moves along all the time...
Saikiran Adivi: I cannot talk about Aavakai-Biryani and analyze Anish's movie because he tried his best to show what he wanted to show. In the classic Missamma, there's an intelligent play with humourous scenes as the characters are established - how Savithri makes the interviewer gulp water while NTR drinks water himself, how the lead pair lie to each other to get into the same job, etc. What surprises me is that people accepted Missamma then but feel our films are slow! Maybe it's that characterization establishment is not being done so much these days! I can immediately think of Raviteja's character in Idiot and Amitabh's character in Sarkar that were brilliantly established. Everyone seems to be doing it in their style...

NaChaKi: Would you not lose some sections of audience because of this slow-paced narration? What would you do in future to come out of the so-called "Kammula influence"? Did you already do anything in this regard?
Saikiran Adivi: I cannot make films based on such calculation. ...An efficient potter should not try to be a good builder! He can make pots well, and that's what he should do. Maybe this is what I know. I'll try to change it one way or the other as long as characterization is not compromised or disturbed. It's a good point indeed! I received the same comment in the past too.

NaChaKi: What are your plans next? Is another sequel coming? Would you continue to make low-budget flicks on your own banner or would you direct for others too? What kind of films do you want to produce/direct? Would you want to plan for a movie with stars?
Saikiran Adivi: Subject is more important than the budget. If I have a subject, the budget can be planned accordingly like I said earlier - finances can be obtained, corporate tieups can be brought in, etc.. If Vinayakudu was made like Magadheera with a 40-crore budget, it'd be a disastrous failure even if it ran for 100 days, and if Magadheera was made in 1.6 crores, it'd not have been successful either! (Laughs) We should thus make the range of the subject decide the budget. ...I believe that a project starts with the script and then passes through phases such as preproduction, shooting, post-production, publicity, release, and ultimately theatrical run. Until the film leaves theaters, I don't think my job or my team's job for that project is complete, and thus I cannot concentrate on other project ideas until then. ...Directing for other banners is an open question until that time when I start thinking of the next film. I am not also capable of directing 3-4 films a year like the veterans did in the past...

NaChaKi: Would you direct a movie with stars if you get a chance?
Saikiran Adivi: I cannot plan a project just because someone approaches me with a 10-crore budget, because such a haphazard production ends as a damp squib in my career and as a financial loss too! It's not that I shouldn't work with stars but it's that my script's content should first appeal to them, failing which there's no point in making a star-studded film. Once the project design is complete and if a star is needed and willing to work for it, I don't have an issue at my end.

NaChaKi: Even this seems like a standard answer from those coming from Sekhar Kammula's school!
Saikiran Adivi: (Laughs) They say everyone studying in the same college exhibit similar behavior or attitude. Or, maybe it's just that birds of same feather flock together!

Interview: NaChaKi