The movie Where are you Sophia? which marks the debut of Andhra born Hollywood filmmaker Nagendra Karri was premiered at the Marche du Film Market at Cannes on May 13. In an interview, Nagendra Karri spoke to Swati Sharma about his new film, Where are …, his definition of an `independent film’ and challenges as a director
HYDERABAD: The following is an excerpt of the interview: Tell us more about yourself, your background.
Born and brought up in Vizag, I pursued higher education in United States and have been working as a Business Financial Analyst while starting my own film production company and doing multiple Hollywood projects at the same time. I love traveling, reading books, observing life from close quarters and most importantly living in the moment.
How does it feel to be part of the Cannes Film Festival? Initially I was very excited to be there presenting my work and also understanding the core aspects of deal making in the film business.
It cannot be thought anywhere else; you have to be there to learn it in person. It was a pleasure meeting a lot of important people in the business. But as the festival went on, I realised this is just the beginning for me. I have a dream now. I will represent India with a major feature film next year in Cannes to compete for the Palm d’Or. I will make it happen with God’s grace. It’s high time India needs proper representation at International Film Festivals on a competitive level.
Tell us about the personal journey that led you to make Where Are You Sophia? I was always driven by my ambition to achieve things which people would term it as not possible or only limited to elite. I have been writing film scripts ever since I was a teenager, but would never disclose it to anyone.
Living in the States gave me the freedom and opportunity to express my creative side. It was hard to manage a day job and also have your own production company doing multiple projects. But I took it as a challenge.
It drove me to extremes both mentally and physically, but I strictly believe that all you can do is keep the effort, the rest is taken care of by whoever takes care of us all the time.
How was Where Are ... conceived? It was a project made with a lot of love and at a very fast pace working 20 hours per day for a period of eight months. From pre-production to the finish line when it was submitted to Cannes 2009, it was done at a nerve-wracking pace. I was also partly helped by my team and the support I received from my family and friends, which always kept me in good spirits.
Please elaborate a bit on your approach to making the film.
My approach to film making is very detail oriented and I work at a very fast pace. I believe that once casting is done, it is very important to make your cast realise the importance of their characters to start with. I am an actor’s director.
I would listen to them when they are trying to enact a scene. I would explain my vision to them, but at the same time I would expect some feedback from them. I feel it is very important to let people express certain feelings of a character in their own way. By doing so, I am not only experimenting with the limits of a character but also envisioning the future character development as I progress along the project. I always make sure that my cast and my crew are very well understood about my vision of the project. It is good to have involvement from every person of the team during the shoot. I might not expect advice or suggestions from them all the time, but I would like them to be involved in the moment and give their best as film making is a creative art which can only get better. There is no such thing as this is my best work or the ultimate film. You learn every second and you cherish it.
Did you take any formal training in direction? My training was my inspirations, which stemmed from directors like Francis Ford Copula, Martin Scorsese, M.Night Shyamalan and Alfred Hitchcock. Among the Indian directors, Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma have a style, which is very distinct and unique. Inspite of all my inspirations above, I like to have my own signature of my work. I don’t believe in training. Direction is one such aspect where you are either born with it or not.
If you are a dreamer and a good storyteller, half the work is done. As far as technical aspects are concerned, all you need is one good year of immersing yourself in the finer details.
You always learn every day with every project. There is always somebody better than you and knows more than you. There is nothing wrong in accepting it and learning from them. This is just the beginning.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in developing the project? Creatively, I hated myself sometimes, as I was limited to do some scenes in a particular way because of budgetary constraints. I like the freedom to create and it is no fun being a director when you know there is lot of limitations on your craft to be executed. Maybe everyone goes through that in his or her first film I guess. But doing a film at the time of recession was the hardest part. I had to use all my experience from the Wall Street to make sure funds were never interrupted during the process. Fortunately I have things lined up for my next projects. So I can concentrate purely on direction and leave the other aspects to the producers.
What other genres or stories would like to explore as a filmmaker? What is your next project? I have always been interested in real life stories with hard-hitting messages. My second love among genre filmmaking has been mystery, suspense and drama. I have three international scripts lined up for the next few years.
My next project would be Mobster, a crime thriller based on the story of Mob life in New York and Moscow (Likely to sign on some one from Andhra Pradesh for a role in Mobster).
But I also have a very interesting real life story titled Cannes which is in the pipeline. I might change my mind and go with Cannes first. I like to make films on an international arena with actors from different countries and stories crossing the territorial boundaries. So, let’s wait and see until my production announces my second project to be going into production.
What is your definition of “independent film,” and has that changed at all since you started working? I love this question. It has a very simple answer though. If you are a first time filmmaker, keep it simple and straight (KISS). Go with the KISS factor, all you need is a good story. An independent film is always hard to make as you have no backing of the major league studios to start with, but it is also good in a way as it gives you the freedom to tune your craft and learn from your mistakes. I would always be comfortable making independent films as it helps me to understand the nuances of film making when you step outside the boundaries of concept filmmaking.
What advice would you impart to emerging filmmakers? Don’t give up. Never ever quit on your dreams. This is a very cruel world and nine out of 10 people will tell you it is not possible until you have done it. Just keep in mind that when you achieve your goals, remember that one person who stood by you when the entire world was against you.
What do you hope for the audience to walk away with after seeing your film? This is a very unconventional suspense film, which will ask the audience a lot of questions and probably stump them with an unexpected ending. It is a psychological thriller, so it is more about asking the audience as the movie goes along, are you guessing right? Do you think you know the ending? I want them to walk out loving the feeling of being stumped.
swati@epmltd.com
