When Rajamouli was kept in the dark

Ritesh Rana’s directorial debut, Mathuvadalara, has been winning accolades. Starring Sri Simha (Keeravani’s son and Rajamouli’s nephew), the suspense thriller has been garnering rave reviews from industry celebs and audiences alike.

The packaging of the film worked big time, says Ritesh. “I think the genre, coupled with the cast’s natural performances, was the key. The success of Mathuvadalara means a lot to us, and it once again proved that the audience always appreciates content-driven films,” he asserts. Getting a chance to direct a film itself was a big success, he adds.

“When I narrated the script to the film’s producer, Cherry garu, he called this person I didn’t know, and made him listen to the script”, the director reveals.

“Later, he asked me ‘will this guy suit for your lead character’? I said, ‘yes!’ Later the producer revealed that he is the younger son of renowned composer Keeravani,” recalls Ritesh.

He admits that he was initially apprehensive about directing Simha. “Since he carried a lot of family baggage, I thought I may not get to execute my script as it was,” he says. “But Rajamouli garu and Keeravani garu never interfered in the script and have not put any pressure on me. In fact, they don’t even know the kind of film we are doing (smiles).”

“We were confident that our film will strike a chord at the box office, and we are glad that we pulled it off,” he adds.