When a friend in filmmaker Ramana Dumpala’s WhatsApp group posted a message that he had won a National Award, Ramana imagined someone was playing a prank on him. “Really?” was the 28-year-old filmmaker’s only response. But soon more congratulatory messages began pouring in, and Ramana decided to check out the official website of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the names. The rest, as they say, is history.
Dedicating an honour
“It feels gratifying to get the award after putting in so much effort into it.
It’s a great feeling, and I am naturally overwhelmed,” shares Ramana, who’d won the award for his 12-minute documentary, Glow Worm in a Jungle.
The film tells the story of Pune-based Hema Sane, a retired botany professor who has decided not to ever use electricity. Ramana’s film, which was all the rage on the internet last year, won the award for the filmmaker’s amazing find in Hema as well as her portrayal in it. “I want to dedicate this award to Hema without whom this film wouldn’t have been possible. I even informed her about the award, and she was extremely happy for me. I am hoping that the award will open gates for greater opportunities,” adds Ramana, who had believed his film and the category would go unnoticed.
Interestingly, apart from winning awards at various international film festivals, Glow Worm in a Jungle was one of the three official nominations for the Student Oscars from India (2018), which was also the only entry from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune.
Nurturing a talent
Ramana’s father was in the CISF, because of which the family moved around the country a lot. Eventually, the family settled in Hyderabad. Impressed by his work during their visit to his campus, filmmakers like Sriram Venu, Srikanth Addala and Sujeeth offered Ramana to assist them. And after completing studies, he immediately was on board for Prabhas-starrer Saaho. “I worked for 14 months on the Saaho script as a part of director Sujeeth’s team,” explains Ramana. But he had to quit the project after securing a seat in Pune Film Institute. “I have a couple of scripts ready. I would love to work in Tollywood,” shares Ramana.
