Director Gowtam has become the talk of Tollywood for his brilliant film Jersey. The Nani-starrer happens to be a Telugu film with cricket in the backdrop. Born in Rajahmundry, Gowtam did engineering and later completed his MBA. Having worked for several years in corporate sector, he eventually decided to quit his job and pursue his childhood dream of showbiz. “Cinema is creative work. When you narrate a story, it reaches millions of people. I am not particularly passionate about cinema or ambitious about making it as a filmmaker. But I just like writing a lot, and storytelling drives him to make films. So I took the leap when I figured that the time was right,” he said.
Gowtam had no connections in the industry, and hasn’t worked under any director in the past. “I had assisted a friend in post-production once. In the process, I learnt the basics of editing, graphics, and a few other technicalities,” he shares, adding, “It was through a common friend, I met producer Rahul. He loved my script and bankrolled my debut film Malli Rava, which was received well by the audience.”
Regarding Jersey, Gowtam says that although Nani immediately agreed to do the film, it took a while for him to digest that this was happening. “But Nani later confirmed that he wanted to start shooting immediately," the director reveals. In the film, Nani plays the role of Ranji cricketer playing for Hyderabad, and in one of the sequences, his team has been shown playing a match against the New Zealand cricket team. Gowtam revealed that he actually approached the Liverpool County Team from England to play the New Zealand team in the film, and they agreed to it. “We tried looking for junior artistes but none of them fit the bill. At some point, we considered asking the New Zealand team but Daniel, who runs the cricket academy, suggested that we try approaching Liverpool County cricket team,” he said. The director is pleased with the response that Jersey has been getting. “I hope to meet my friends and also visit Rajahmundry soon. I want to be around people who can give me honest feedback,” he said.
