Saran Raparthy specialises in discovering locations untapped by South’s filmmakers
GLOBE-TROTTER: Saran Raparthy with Ram Charan during the shoot of Naayak in Iceland, in 2013. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad: Few years ago, when Saran Raparthy passed out of an engineering college, he had no idea what to do. The story of everyone’s life, you might think, but what sets Saran apart is that he took two things that he loved the most and made a career out if it.
Today, he is essentially the personal travel guide for Tollywood. Here’s what he does: Saran absorbs the script or requirements, suggests apt locations as per the director’s vision and producer’s budget and then works with the crew closely while shooting.
“Coming from a family that was already into films, coupled with my love for travelling, this became a merger of the two for me to take on. And the timing was perfect as the industry was also looking for younger people to be part of the making and to give a fresh look to films,” says Saran, who has travelled to 30 countries in five years.
Saran has worked in over 40 films in five years. Over the years, he has worked closely with the film industry’s biggies, directors and producers, taken up the role of line producer and coordinated shoots for songs and action sequences.
Among his recent films are Alludu Seenu, for which he suggested Oka Laila Kosam in Switzerland, Ravi Teja’s Power in Bulgaria and Govindhudu Andharivadele, which was shot in Jordan and London.
“Sometimes I don’t even get to hear the full script, I just get the requirements and the overall feel of the film.”
So I take into account the star cast, the standard and the mood of the film and suggest locales they can shoot in,” explains Saran, who heads the Hyderabad branch of Travel Masters India Pvt Ltd.
Saran explores places that haven’t yet been tapped by filmmakers in South India. And it is also important for these countries to be “film friendly”. “I would say there is a lack of exposure to new countries and locations in South India. That’s where I come in. Of late, the countries are also promoting themselves to accommodate film tourism,” he says.
Of all the countries he has travelled to, he says Iceland is the most challenging. “I have shot with Ram Charan for Nayak at Iceland. The terrain and the climate are extremely challenging, especially dealing with the cold winds. And we were working on the icebergs and glaciers!”
When it comes to the strictest countries to shoot in, he names USA, England and Canada. “In USA especially, it takes a lot of time for permissions and to block locations,” he says.
Saran puts Japan on the top of the list of best countries to shoot in. “I would say Japan is the best because of how scenic it is. The country also has four very beautiful seasons while the cities are so futuristic. And in the end product, when the film comes out, the place looks as beautiful on screen as in reality,” he adds.
And yes, the people he meets all over the world are big fans of Indian films. “They say Bollywood because they don’t understand Tollywood, Kollywood and Sandalwood. But they are so fascinated with our films,” he says.
At the end of it all, Saran does it for the audiences. “The driving force is that not everyone will get to travel to these countries and the idea is to enable them to at least see it on screen and enjoy it,” he says.
“So I take into account the star cast, the standard and the mood of the film and suggest locales they can shoot in,” explains Saran, who heads film tourism at Travel Masters India Pvt Ltd.
Saran explores places that haven’t yet been tapped by filmmakers in South India. And it is also important for these countries to be “film friendly”. “I would say there is a lack of exposure to new countries and locations in South India. That’s where I come in. Of late, the countries are also promoting themselves to accommodate film tourism,” he says.
Of all the countries he has travelled to, he says Iceland is the most challenging. “I had to shot with Ram Charan for Naayak in Iceland. The terrain and the climate are extremely challenging, especially dealing with the cold winds. And we were working around the icebergs and glaciers!”
When it comes to the strictest countries to shoot in, he names USA, England and Canada. “In USA especially, it takes a lot of time for permissions and to block locations,” he says.
Saran puts Japan on the top of the list of best countries to shoot in. “I would say Japan is the best because of how scenic it is. The country also has four very beautiful seasons and the cities are just so futuristic. And in the end product, when the film comes out, the place looks as beautiful on screen as in reality,” he adds.
And yes, the people he meets all over the world are big fans of Indian films. “They say Bollywood because they don’t understand Tollywood, Kollywood and Sandalwood. But they are so fascinated with our films,” he says.
At the end of it all, Saran does it for the audiences. “What drives me is that not everyone will get to travel to these countries and the idea is to enable the audience to at least see it on screen and enjoy it,” he says.
( Source : dc )
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