Being Nandini Reddy: the non-conformist filmmaker of the Telugu cinema in "Oh! Baby & # 39; and more

Ala Modalaindi, Jabardasth and KalYana Vaibhogame – Telugu's three successes share certain cinematographic elements. In addition to winning critical acclaim, the film, which will be released after 2010, had a young cast of stars and talked about problems that the millennium generation could easily identify. The films had protagonists who went through difficult phases of life with a minimum of emotional or theatrical drama that were made to death in the Telugu cinema.

The movies were a breath of fresh air in an industry that was otherwise filled with macho heroes who hit five bad guys at once and main characters who are just candy for the eyes. With the success of these films, the director and writer Nandini Reddy has become a name to be reckoned with and has managed to find a place in the industry.

Nandini, who is now considering the release of his next film Oh! Baby, will be seen donning a director's hat after a long interval. The film, presented as a fantasy fiction, has Samantha Akkineni and veteran actor Lakshmi as the lead role. Although the film is a remake of the Korean drama Miss GrannyNandini says the film has universal appeal and is suitable for all audiences.

In a frank conversation with TNM, Nandini discusses the Indian adaptation of Oh! Babyworks on remakes, Tollywood's fight against badual harbadment and much more.

You are known for writing the movies you make. In this direction, Oh! Baby comes as a surprise. How did the Korean remake go?

This time it was not my decision to adapt the Korean movie. The film came to me. Manufacturers of Miss Granny themselves approached Samantha and me for the remake. That's how I watched the movie and liked the movie a lot. When I looked at the story, there was an instant emotional touch. I felt that it was a story to tell. And also with Samantha on board, I felt that no one else could do more justice to this role.

After Kalyana Vaibhogame in 2016, we see you as a director after a long interval. Was there a particular reason behind this three-year break?

I would not call the gap "a break" because there is no particular reason to mention it. It's just that once you plan a movie, many factors must be gathered and at the same time work well. The chronology of the actors does not correspond and sometimes I have the impression that the scenario requires more work. That said, if you really want projects to come true one after the other, you have to align your work, which does not happen in my case. I tend to write most of my scripts myself and I can not bring myself to write scripts at such a fast speed.

You said that Oh! Baby is a movie with a universal appeal. What did you like as a director when you watched the movie for the first time?

Oh! Baby is a film that has already worked well in seven countries. It has a Disney palette … which means that Disney movies, if you've noticed, work well in different countries and in different languages. Because his mind is so universal. Human beings, no matter which country, have a set of basic human emotions. Oh! Babyis a story that will cross all clbades. You can not clbadify it as an urban or rural film or for a sophisticated audience. It's a perfect mix of emotion and humor, as well as mystery and magic. It's a story that's both magical and real. It's a film that makes you want, 'Wow! If only I had those powers!

Oh! Baby the actor Lakshmi will return to the big screen after a long interval. How was he leading such an experienced actor who is still revered in all industries?

For me, it's a wish from my list. Working with Lakshmi Amma and Rajendra Prasad Gaaru, I was like a kid in a candy store. I had a constant smile on my face because you do not need to lead these veteran actors. You just have to put them in the situation and then watch them play. The job of these actors, every nuance they bring and how they improve every line written 100 times – it was magic. I think working with Lakshmi Amma was one of the best experiences the film gave me.

Have spoken of Oh! BabyThe universal attraction, how did you make sure that the film also corresponded to the Indian sensibility?

Human and family relationships have been my forte. But for people who have not seen the original movie, I had to make it more Aboriginal. When someone tells you a beautiful story that has already worked, the translation of the story is a huge responsibility. I did not want people to look back and say, "Man, she ruined everything!" That said, we worked with great respect for the original version. I've also taken the advice of Korean designers because at any point they can never go wrong with the true essence of history. I was very worried about the final product until the Korean team saw the movie (that too without subtitles) and embarked on the movie.

Tollywood sees a lot of remakes on the screens this year. And only a few managed to perform well at the box office. As a director, in your opinion, how is a film a success in a language and a flop for a different audience?

The remakes are delicate. The remakes go terribly wrong when you think about foiling the story. Each story has its strengths and weaknesses. You must rework the highlights of the film without overhauling the whole structure. It's as if someone had already built the ground floor of a house, you should keep the structure intact, and then build the second floor. You are stupid if you flip the base and try to rebuild the structure. Administrators must put aside their ego and not consider redoing a space to prove their talent. For example, Ala Modalaindi has been redone in other languages. But I was not happy watching them because the remakes did not have the sensitivity of the original movie. It's not the scenes or the songs, it's about capturing the essence of the film and not just translating it.

After writing the script for two Telugu Web series, do you think that directors express their ideas better online than the freedom they enjoy when they shoot?

There are a lot of movies that do not fit the two-and-a-half hour format. For example, the movie Jayalalithaa. There is a movie about the politician and a web series. I think the Web series will be able to do justice to his tumultuous life better because his life can not be told in just two hours. In addition, Web series can only rely on content. He does not need the power of a star cast. In this sense, Web series allow you to tell totally different stories. Our film selection behavior for movie theaters and the web is different. The kind of stories we watch in a group in cinemas is very different from the content we watch online. That said, the Web series is an emerging space and everyone is still testing things.

All your work so far has young people in the cast, talk about grief, family and relationships. Are you trying to make romcom your area of ​​expertise?

No, I just want to be everywhere. I want to do all kinds of movies. I want to do a thriller. I want to do a biopic. But I am also a writer and I can only write certain genres. But if I get custom-made scripts that are worth it, I can even make three movies a year!

You are a member of the group formed by the Telangana government to investigate allegations of badual harbadment in the industry. How much work has progressed and do you think enough is done?

We just put a seed and now we water it. Let the plant grow. This is an excellent initiative by the government because no other industry in this country has taken such an initiative. Members are optimistic and we need to develop rules and laws that involve multiple industry organizations. We must also find the most effective mechanism to get things started. For example, how do you convince women that even if they are not ready to call themselves, their cases will be heard? One billion of these problems must be solved. We are not looking for immediate solutions, but a solid mechanism that can work well for the industry in the years to come.