Writer and filmmaker Mahi V. Raghav’s upcoming film Yatra on former AP Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, is gearing up for release on February 8. Describing the film, he says, “My film is not a biopic, but a human drama based on an event, the famous padayatra (walkathon) undertaken by YSR.” He adds, “I want to show how he transformed into a leader during that walkathon and changed people’s perception of his personality.”
While the padayatra provides the backdrop of the film, Mahi says that he had to club several instances and put them together in a dramatic timeline to capture YSR’s character. “I believe that I have captured the soul and spirit of YSR’s character and his journey. What I like the most about YSR was his humility, gratitude, loyalty and his welfare schemes — traits that left an everlasting impact on the people and eventually made him who he was,” he explains.
Interestingly, while biopics generally have inputs from the person featured or their family members, Mahi was surprised that YSR’s son, Y.S. Jagan wasn’t even keen to look at the script. “I met Jagan anna twice during his padayatra and showed him the first look and the teaser. He graciously told me that it was my story of a leader as I imagined him, so there was nothing he could do with the script,” shares Mahi, adding, “The audience would love to see a star playing Jagan but we wanted to stay true to the story without any sideshows. Hence, we had to omit him from the film.”
Mahi admits that he had his share of challenges to transform the script into an engaging narrative. He further shares that casting Malayalam superstar Mammootty was an intentional and ideal choice. “Had we cast a Telugu star, his image would have dominated the onscreen character, which we didn’t want,” he explains.
Surprisingly, Mahi hates the tag of ‘directing’ a film; he instead describes it as ‘collaborating’. “I am a storyteller and have a vision on how to narrate a film. My job is only to communicate my vision through technicians who know their job better than me. They are the co-creators of my story and I want them to feel a sense of ownership in the film,” he says, adding, “I find it obscene and vulgar to use the word directing. Filmmaking is a collaborative art; but most directors make the technicians feel inferior and do not treat them on par.”
