“I am like a crazy guy on the sets,” says industry’s one of the most sought-after directors, S.S. Rajamouli, adding, “I shout a lot.” Ahead of the release of his magnum opus Baahubali, the director says that though he makes films on reincarnation, he himself does not believe in it. “I don’t believe in it. However, I like the emotion and drama that it kindles in me… also, this theory of reincarnation is great for giving an insight to my story.”
His fascination for historical mythology goes back to his childhood. “The first story I read was of Lord Krishna. As a child I read Bal Bharathi stories as well as Ramayana and Mahabharata… Thus, my characters are like superheroes. The wonderful artwork of that era has left an undying impression on me. Especially, the story of Vasudeva carrying an infant Krishna on his head.”
Apart from Tollywood, he says that he would “love to direct the Khans in Bollywood”. “What always drives me is my story,” he says, adding, “If I have a strong content that suits them, I will surely go ahead and narrate them the story. My story drives me more than any stars. I don’t work the other way round, first asking stars for dates and then working on the story. Instead, I will prepare a worthwhile story and then approach them.”
Rajamouli adds that he doesn’t want to make remakes of his own films. “I do not like to revisit something all over again. During the process of a film, I give enough time to that particular film. I would rather make a new movie with fresh content, the idea of a remake does not fascinate me.”
On associating with Karan Johar for the first time, the director says, “I met Karan for the first time on my latest promotional trip of Baahubali. He knows the kind of films I make. We are making entirely different genres of films… I cannot come out of my comfort zone and make romantic films. But though our creative sensibilities might not match, we have the same passion towards filmmaking. The fact that we are on the same wavelength probably brought us together.”
“Time will tell whether I will make films for Karan. We haven’t discussed anything on those lines.” Despite being a hugely successful director, Rajamouli says that the business part of filmmaking is alien to him. “I am averse to commercial filmmaking, the director should know how to exploit the stars’ talent. Also, a good film needs to have great dialogues, action and drama. I, however, can’t say much about a typical rom-com.”
The one person he would like to thank for standing by him is his wife Rama. “Without her support it would have been a herculean task for me to be able to make films. She has always looked after family matters at home. In fact, she is the head of my family.
“When I saw her designing costumes for her first film, Sye, I understood her love for colours. She has a very good sense of blending different colours and getting the best from them. I am not very good at colour combinations. Thus I wanted her to design costumes for my films. She is a shy person and loves to work from home so that she can take care of the children and the family. She does not like to visit the sets at all.”
When asked if his wife would be getting some “royalties” for the work she put into Baahubali, the director says, “No royalty… everything is hers no?”
