With his golden touch, Pellichoopulu director Tharun Bhascker has been able to grab the eyeballs of the who’s who in the film fraternity, from Bollywood super star Salman Khan, to young actor Akhil Akkineni.
While the former wants to rope in Tharun for the Hindi remake of Pellichoopulu, the latter is eager to work with him. However, Tharun clarifies, “I haven’t decided anything about directing the Hindi film. I have to work on the same subject and spend time for nearly a year, so I haven’t made up my mind.”
Born in Chennai and brought up in Hyderabad, Tharun is sad that his father Uday Bhaskar, who passed away last year, couldn’t see his success. “He is my guiding force and so, I dedicated this film to him,” says Tharun.
His first work was a graduation video that he made soon after his high school. “I was appreciated a lot for that and I then started making videos and short films,” says Tharun, who started off with advertisement films for corporate companies and wedding videos.
“I started making short films and uploading them on the Internet. One of those — Anukokunda, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. It gave me great confidence,” says Tharun.
“My short film, Sainma, based on rural Telangana impressed Manchu Lakshmi so much, that she called me immediately and asked me to prepare a script. Though she was busy with various commitments, she encouraged me a lot and sent me to other producers,” he recalls.
However, no one showed interest in the subject. “It was not easy to find a producer, but we finally got Raj Kandukuri and Yash Rangineni. Later, Suresh Babu saw the trailer and immediately decided to take it,” he says.
Another mentor of his is Rammohan Rao of Uyyala Jumpala fame . “He is my guide and mentor, and the first person who spotted my talent. He asked me to write a rom-com, but I was not interested,” says Tharun, who was approached by Rammohan to direct a film.
After gaining more confidence, he began scripting Pellichoopulu and roped in Vijay and Ritu Varma. He completed the film within the budget as most of the shoot happened in Secunderabad and Chikkadapally.
“We didn’t have a big budget, so we went for real locations. Vikarabad is our best foreign location,” he says with a laugh. About spot recording, he says, “It is not a new concept. I met Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, who was associated with Mayabazar. He revealed that they made the film with live (sync) sound. I too went the same way, which gave the team discipline and focus,” says Tharun, whose wife Latha was the movie’s costume designer.
Tharun, who is penning another script, says, “Suresh Babu garu told me that the content is very important, not the stars,” he says, adding that he wants to take it slow.
