Teaching to filmmaking

Basava Shankar is eagerly awaiting the release of his directorial debut Evariki Cheppoddu, starring Rakesh Varre and Gargeyi Yellapragada in the lead. And even before its release, the film has been watched by none other than top producer Dil Raju. “Yes, he watched the film and said he liked it. He’s releasing our small film, which is a very big gesture, and we are all happy,” says Shankar.

Shankar, who was born and brought up in Hyderabad, completed his B.Tech from JNTU in 1998 and went on to become a teacher. “I worked as an assistant professor in a college for seven years and then entered the film industry. I used watch a lot of Hollywood films and got my inspirations from there,” says Shankar, who previously worked as an assistant director to Sujeeth Reddy for Run Raja Run and Tharun Bhaskcer for Pelli Choopulu.

Talking of the film, he says, “It’s a romantic comedy and mostly a fun film. After I completed my script, I narrated to Tharun to get his opinion and he loved it,” says Shankar, adding, “It’s not about the dark side of caste, but just fun side of it.”

Adding that he got the inspiration for the film from his friend, Shankar says, “One of my close friends fell in love with a girl, but problems began when they decided to get married. So, I used that as the inspiration for my plot and it’s a complete fun story.”