Anudeep KV made his directorial debut with Pittagoda and shot to fame with the blockbuster success of Jathi Ratnalu. He later directed Tamil actor Sivakarthikeyan in Prince, which failed to shine at the box office. After a gap of four years, Anudeep is now back with Funky, starring Vishwak Sen and Kayadu Lohar. Suryadevara Naga Vamsi and Sai Soujanya jointly produce the film. Much like his films, Anudeep’s reason for naming his film Funky wasn’t done with much deliberation, but it works like magic nonetheless. He says, “Funky sounded catchy, so we went with it.”
The film in which Vishwak Sen plays the role of a film director is expected to capture some of the inside stories in the industry. “There are certain incidents inspired by what we see in the industry. I added a love story to that backdrop,” Anudeep explains. The director is hopeful that the rapport he shared with Vishwak Sen and Kayadu Lohar will reflect in the film. “While writing the dialogues, we got excited, and we genuinely felt it would work,” he adds.
Despite making cameo appearances in the past, Anudeep is clear that he is purely focused on filmmaking, and his on-screen appearances are just for his filmmaker friends. “I don’t want to act as a lead or even as a character artist. I did a few cameos only because those directors are my friends. Even in Funky, I appear briefly in a cameo,” he says. Although the word ‘funky’ is internet slang, Anudeep dismisses that social media does not influence how he writes his films. “People watch jokes on social media and move on. I don’t take jokes from there. I write my stories seriously, and we create our own humour,” he says. Youngsters have been the primary target audience of Anudeep’s films so far. He, however, says that Funky also has strong family emotions and offers something for everyone. “It caters to all sections of the audience,” he said.
With Prince and Funky almost four years apart, Anudeep reveals his plan for his future films, suggesting that there won’t be big gaps between his films. “I’m writing a female-oriented story, and I’m also developing a script for Venkatesh garu. I need to narrate it to Suresh Babu garu first. If he likes it, I may direct Venkatesh,” he shares.
Anudeep further states that Jathi Ratnalu and Funky may seem similar in a broad viewpoint, but he says that both films are very different in nature and treatment. “Funky is an out-and-out romantic comedy and a family entertainer. It humorously portrays situations from a director’s life in a way that common audiences can relate to. Along with comedy, there are strong emotional moments,” he elaborates.
Set against the backdrop of the film industry and the protagonist working in the industry, Anudeep says it was essential not to make the subject and conflict alien to the common audience and that he has taken care to make it relatable to people. “Some characters should feel close to real life. Comedy must feel natural to connect with the audience. Even though Funky has a film-industry backdrop, we designed it to be relatable.”
Praising Kayadu Lohar, Anudeep says her character is equally entertaining. “She gets equal importance along with the lead actor.” He also added that the film includes subtle punches and satire on the industry. “I can write jokes on myself too, but since I’m doing a cameo, I avoided that,” he smilingly says.
Discussing the failure of Prince, Anudeep believes it is important to give a story its time to develop, and that was not there for Prince. “Success and failure are part of filmmaking. For Prince, we didn’t get enough time to develop the script properly. For Funky, we took our time and prepared a strong script.”
He reveals that it was producer Naga Vamsi who was impressed by the script first, and Vishwak joined the project later. “Naga Vamsi liked it immediately and agreed to produce the film,” he says, praising Vishwak Sen’s performance in Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi, which made him choose the actor for Funky.
Anudeep firmly believes that a trailer and teaser are enough promotion for a film and that content alone can take a film to its success. “If people like the teaser and trailer, they’ll come to theatres. Promotions may get views, but content brings audiences,” he says, adding he also strictly sticks to the budget and never exceeds it. “My films are dialogue-driven, so costs are always under control.”
He signs off, sharing his positive approach towards failures. Anudeep says that rather than wallowing over the project that did not work, he instead chooses to hone his skill and craft to make the next film a better one. “I don’t let hits or flops get into my head. A flop does reduce motivation, but I focus on the next project and delivering better content,” he concludes.