Tollywood director Jayanth Paranji, who gave the industry movies like Preminchukundam Raa, Eeshwar and Shankar Dada M.B.B.S among others and the hit TV serial Tenalirama, is all set to come back to Tollywood. After Teen Maar in 2011, he decided to take a break and now four years later, he is back with a movie, which he believes will be a respite to audience here, who are bored of the usual masala entertainers.
“After Teen Maar, I was at a phase when I was bored of whatever I was doing. So I decided to take a break. All the movies I did so far are with big stars. And unfortunately, in the film industry, one has to tailor the script, so that it works for the stars. There is no actual storytelling. We stitch a story to suit the star. I wasn’t happy with what I was doing, so I stayed away,” he says.
His next will probably be a first for Tollywood — a dark movie with no make up, no romance and no songs, Jayanth says, “I stumbled upon something that I wanted to speak about. For the first time, there is no romance and there are no songs. It is about an alcoholic, suspended police officer, who stumbles upon human trafficking. How this cop goes against the system and tries to stop it, forms the crux of the story.
It is more of a Martin Scorsese kind of movie.” Does he think that, audiences are open to such a movie? “Somebody has to give it a shot. Just because there are no songs, you cannot call it an art film. It’s not an art film, its not a masala film — I am trying to find a middle path.”
He adds, “When I am talking about human trafficking and child pornography in the movie, I can’t have an item song. I need it to be real. I am not using lights or generators. You know how certain news reports are done — which you shoot with a cellphone, that’s the kind of feel I am giving it. I want it to be raw. I want Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs Of Wasseypur to look glossy, when compared to this (laughs). I am excited about the script, because I am finally doing what I want to and not something that is tailor-made for the star. So there is a big burden that has got off me.”
