Having started his career as a choreographer in the television industry more than a decade ago, Bharrath Komalapati hasn’t gotten a chance to explore the storyteller in him. To explore himself as a filmmaker, he has now found a path with an engaging horror thriller. Bharrath is making his debut with the film titled ‘S5’ (No Exit) which is hitting the screens in December this weekend. ‘S5’ features actor Nandamuri Tarakaratna, Prince senior actor Sai Kumar, comedian Ali and Sunil in the lead roles.
How has your journey begun in Tollywood?
I ran away from my hometown Anantapur as a teenager and reached Hyderabad for the love that I have for cinema. I was offered the lead role in the movie. But soon after it was launched, the makers shelved it citing unknown reasons. This has depressed me a lot. My future was at stake. Later, I started dancing Ganesh festivities on the streets to earn a living. That’s how I discovered the dancer in me. I later got associated with television host Omkar, and that’s where I was introduced to Telugu audiences as a dancer. Director Puri Jagannath called me up to offer me a chance in ‘Temper’. Later I worked for ‘Jyothi Lakshmi’ as a dance master. Now I’m happy that I am being launched as a director.
What’s ‘S5’ about?
It’s a story about a group of youngsters who get trapped in the coach S5 during their train journey from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam. It has elements of horror, thrill and fun. The existence of a ghost is revealed at the interval.
Senior actor Sai Kumar is playing the role of Chief Minister. His son books the rail coach to throw a party for his close friends. They discover that rail coach S5 has no exit point after it sets off from the railway station. A fire mishap in the coach rang alarm bells among the passengers. None would be spared from this impending danger.
What’s the reason to cast Tarak Ratna specifically? He has been away from mainstream cinema for quite some time now.
When I narrated the story to Tarak, he liked the characterisation. He expressed interest in playing the character which has a grey shade. His attire as a mystique throws distinct mannerism. It happened very smoothly without much friction as far as choosing artistes is concerned.
Filmmaking is always a complex subject to dabble with, haven’t you felt risky anytime during the process?
I’ve been developing such ideas for many years in the past. But the ‘S5’ has a solid idea and I felt why shouldn’t I give it a thought and develop it into a full-length story. And when I narrated the story to my friend Goutham Kondepudi who is looking for a launchpad into the movie production. With the entry of a good star cast like Sai Kumar, Sunil and comedian Ali, the budget went up a bit.
How challenging was it for you to handle senior artistes on the film sets?
I was nervous a bit initially, it was great working with all these senior actors in the industry. Styling of characters was the crucial part. Sai Kumar garu is playing a negative role throughout, he doesn’t have dialogues. Tarak plays the son of the Chief Minister. The sketch of his character is quite unique. A loyal son who wishes his father to continue in power, he has good political backing from his father for everything he does.
