Short film and a big break
Arun Pawar bagged his first Tollywood feature movie even before he completed his short film
Sometimes, all it takes is just a glance to spot true talent. Take the case of 27-year-old Arun Pawar, for instance. It was by pure chance that Tollywood director-producer Maruthi stumbled upon the trailer of Arun’s short film 'Aditi' on YouTube. He loved its direction, editing and screenplay’. Two days later, he had offered Arun his first feature film, with a budget of a crore or two!
'Aditi' was Arun’s very first shot at filmmaking, for which he roped in his friends, a bunch of aspiring actors and film technicians, and weaved a 30-minute love story with just Rs 50,000.
On his big break, he says, “Maruthi is giving wonderful opportunities to new talent and I’m very lucky. We have already shot two schedules of the film and the next is due to begin in Goa on January 20. It’s a rom-com with newcomers. Maruthi told me, ‘Just make a clean film’. And, that’s what I am trying to do.”
Arun’s 'Aditi' also bagged another handsome deal. “An online portal bought my film for Rs 1,50,000. I had only intended it for YouTube viewing and wanted to take it to big producers to get a break,” he says.
How did the photography and interior design degree holder stray into films? “I was always inclined towards films but didn’t have the technical skills. Some people suggested I should try visual effects. That’s how I joined Pixelloid, which does VFX for Telugu films,” he says.
Over the next four years, he rose from a visual effects artist (starting with 'Bommarillu') to a supervisor, scouting for locations along with directors. He has worked on 20 films so far, including 'Oye', 'Sainikudu', 'Julayi' and his last 'Aattarintiki Daredi'.
“For 'Aattarintiki...', I worked with a motion control camera. That’s a first for Tollywood. We recreated a railway station through computer graphics,” says Arun, who considers the film’s director Trivikram Srinivas his mentor.