HYDERABAD: As one enters director Teja’s office, it is an air of anticipation and hope that greets you.
Several aspiring artistes sit around practising their acts, others work on their expressions and the remaining stay stone-faced with anxiety. Some, who don’t get a place to sit inside, perch themselves on the footpath outside. If there is one man in the industry who is known to propel youngsters on to the silver screen, it is Teja.
The man who offers a platform for many wannabe actors, going by his record of introducing heroes like Uday Kiran, Navdeep and Nitin, is all set to launch a movie Atu-Itu with fresh faces, yet again. Teja’s casting director Ramanand is having a tough time filtering the eligible candidates.
“Many of the candidates who come here really do not fit the slot of a hero. They are ambitious and want to make it big but it’s not that easy. Hence, instead of rejecting them outright and hurting them, I counsel them on the facts,” Ramanand shares.
All the characters in the movie including the heroine have been zeroed in on except for the hero, hence the hunt for the lucky boy.
“We require a boy who is around 18-19 years old and of medium height and built.
In the last two days we got around 8,000 applications, but we have not found the right person yet. Anyone interested can drop in their portfolio in my office or mail jayammovies@gmail.com,” he adds.
According to Teja, Atu-Itu is going to be an odd love story, of odd people under odd circumstances. “This will no doubt be a controversial subject but it is about what happens in our society. The movie will be shot in 40 days and will be set against a semi-urban backdrop. Atu-Itu is being produced by Jayam movies and co-produced by Suresh productions.
The shooting of the movie will begin from December 11, with or without the hero.” Uh what?! Well that’s the way Teja goes about his work. For Nuvvu Nennu, the hero’s character was not finalised till the last moment. Uday Kiran, who would hang around in the office most of the time was chosen just before the shooting started. Teja adds, “Even Gopichand was informed a day before shooting started to come to the sets of Nijam.” About his penchant for newcomers, he says, “I always want to help the weaker sections. Established stars are already there but newcomers are the ones who need help and I am just doing that. It is not only in acting but I make sure I have two woman assistant directors for every film of mine.” For someone who has tasted phenomenal success in the early stages of his career with Chitram, Nuvvu Nennu and Jayam, the recent spate of flops like Keka, Oka Vichitram and Avunanna Kaadanna seem to begin his downward spiral.
“One has to see success as well as failure and I am glad I have seen them both. I would love to experiment but the movie world is a trap. If I make experimental movies, the audience will want love stories and if I make love stories, people would say I am back with the same stuff.
But this time I don’t want to dissapoint my audience who come all the way to the theatre to watch my movie,” the director says.
Teja is known to wear his heart on the sleeve, perhaps one of the reasons for being mired in controversies all the time. “I am very uncomfortable with lies and just express whatever I feel. Many people may not like it, but that is the way I am.” Teja shares an interesting incident when he was the cinematographer for the Hindi movie Ghulam.
“The song Aati Kya Khandala was originally choreographed by Raju Khan. When Aamir Khan had asked the unit members for their opinion on the song, I instantly replied that I did not like the choreography. Aamir agreed with me and that is how we reshot the song with another choreographer Lollipop.” Life has been one roller-coaster ride for Teja, whose real life story can be an inspiration for a commercial movie.
Starting off as an orphan from Tamil Nadu who used to sleep on the streets of Chennai, to turning into one of the most recognised directors of Tollywood, Teja has come a long way.
“During my early days I used to work as a lorry cleaner.
I started off as a photographer and then worked my way up to become a cinematographer in Bollywood. I even did lot of music videos and shows too during which I travelled extensively. All these have happened not because I was ambitious but since it was all a matter of survival.
Destiny is what brought me to this stage,” Teja signs off.
m rahul.d@expressbuzz.com
