Ram Gopal Varma feels lucky to have discovered a technician like Siddhartha Thatholu, the director of Bhairava Geetha. Without doubt, he says that the audience will “clap” for the 23-year-old upon watching the film. “Since I have already seen it, I want to applaud him right now,” adds RGV as he talks to us on the sidelines of the trailer release on Saturday. The film will be released in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.
Siddhartha, the director of Bhairava Geetha had never been on a film set before directing this film. With a B Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering, his only experience in films was as an assistant editor. He learnt filmmaking only from watching films.He’s equally lavish in his praise of actor Dhananjay, whom he addresses as Daali was referred to RGV by Bhaskar Rashi, the producer of the film.
“I was impressed with his performance in Tagaru, and thought he was the perfect choice for the role in Bhairava Geetha. I must say that he is a most promising actor. His realistic approach and style of acting (method acting) is very rare in the south. After seeing him in Bhairava Geetha, I have become a big fan of him,” says the filmmaker, who assures us that Bharaiva Geetha will be “different” from what we’re used to seeing on the big screen. “Credit must go to the first-time director. There is genuine new talent coming together in this film. I am not saying this because I am part of the film, but from a filmmaker’s point of view.”
Spotting Siddhartha
RGV recalls how he received a visit from a short film maker at that time, when he was shooting for Killing Veerappan in Vishakapatnam. “I was impressed with his work and asked him to come to Mumbai with his friends, who were also into short films. Siddhartha was one of these friends. He’s a person of few words. But whenever he made suggestions to me about a cut, I was always impressed,” he says, adding, “When I was doing a particular web series, he got involved in the project and suggested a concept, which caught my attention. That’s when my confidence in him went up. Having said that, making a film is a different ball game and I wasn’t sure whether he would be able to pull it off. I was worried if he would be able to handle actors, but he said he could. From there on, there was no looking back.”
He surprised me with every scene
RGV, who is presenting the film, tells us that Siddhartha took his own decisions, and rarely asked for advice while shooting. “Everything was his call. When I read the script, I only had a vague idea about how it would look. Siddhartha surprised me with the way he has captured every scene.” The veteran director, he says he learnt a lot from the debutant. “Had I directed Bhairava Geetha, I wouldn’t have been able to match up to Siddhartha. When I saw his vision, I felt he was far superior.”
‘I focus on the craftsmanship while watching a film’
The filmmaker tells us that he finds it very difficult to watch a film today. “I am mostly inclined towards documentaries. My interest in cinema is different from others. I don’t see it like a regular viewer. I don’t watch it for the story. I tend to focus on the craftsmanship. If I don’t find that interesting, I stop watching,” he says, adding that Bhairava Geetha has a mix of both story and craftsmanship.