Director Srinu Vaitla is upbeat about his upcoming film Bruce Lee starring Ram Charan. Asked whether he was feeling any pressure, especially since there were news about him having differences with writer Kona Venkat and Prakash Raj before shooting had started, he says, “I always want freedom when I direct a film and I give more importance to that than my remuneration. My earlier film didn’t do well and I was disappointed, but I still worked without any pressure and was also free as a director for Bruce Lee.”
He added that differences were bound to crop up in the working process. “But that doesn’t mean we are enemies. We will talk and work together. Past is past and we always look to the future for a better product,” he says. He says that he will work with Prakash Raj too in the future. “We have spoken several times after that issue,” he says.
In Telugu cinema, Srinu Vaitla is known for a genre of his own. “I am going to change that trend with this film,” he says, adding, “Though I am not leaving entertainment, but I have given importance to the story this time,” he says.
His last film Aagadu with Mahesh Babu was a disaster and he says that he had learnt from his mistakes. “More than a successful film, I always look at the flop films to learn my lessons. So all films are a learning process for me,” he says.
When asked to comment on director Teja’s criticism that most of Srinu’s films are of a similar pattern and become successful, he laughs and says, “I always enjoy reading Teja’s interviews. I am busy with my film’s shooting and I will now check what he exactly said.” He adds that he misses actors like M.S. Narayana and Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, who passed away recently. “They always played important roles in my films and I liked both of them.”
Talking about Chiranjeevi’s cameo in Bruce Lee, he says, “He is looking younger now and more energetic. It’s always a pleasure to direct Chiranjeevi garu and I am looking forward to doing another film with him.”
