Sathish Babu Ghanta is known only to the industry folks and that too, to a few people but post mid September, he will be a familiar face. His debut film Butterfly starring Anupama Parameswaran and Bhumika Chawla will be streaming on Disney Hotstar. This film, though intended for a theatrical release, was sold to the OTT platform as post pandemic, the footfalls to the theatres were not that encouraging. The director, in a chat with the Klapboardpost.com, terms this movie as his visiting card. Sathish is a low profile person, who loves cinema and can speak any amount on the topic but go to him with small talk, he will shy away from your company. A man with focus and clarity, he had in his salad days watched the film industry and film industry folks and thereupon was fixated on his own work, seldom indulging in networking for a career in the direction department. He spent all the important five years of his life writing, developing his stories and when he found a right and an opportune moment, wielded the megaphone. Patience personified, the debutant has already signed his next film with a popular actor and will reveal the details soon. Excerpts from the conversation:
KBP: What kind of films did you watch when you were young and what sort of impact did it have on you?
SB: I hail from Guntur and I remember having a strong filmi atmosphere at home; My father would bring story (audio) cassettes home regularly like Pratighatana, Mundadugu, Yamagola etc and all the trending movies. Any relative who came home would be engaged listening to the audio records. I was ten years old then. My father, brother and mother..all of us would see the important, good films in the theatre regularly. Slowly it got to me, watching at least one film in the theatre every month. Myself and my elder brother were Chiranjeevi fans and we watched a lot of television which had movie based programmes. Coming to Hyderabad meant money and contacts and I accepted the Hyderabad posting as a medical representative. I used this job as a stepping stone to get to Hyderabad to pursue a film career. Friends helped me some with acquaintances. Director Kasi Vishwanath assured me that he would allow me to become an assistant director whenever he starts a film. I did these jobs simultaneously…working in a company and alongside doing spadework for Kasi Vishwantah’s films. We had regular discussions and I developed contacts and began meeting people. This was around 2004, I was with Kasi Vishwanath for a year and his nephew was director Sriwass. I looked out for work elsewhere but it was taking time.
KBP: How long did it take you to become an assistant director?
SB: Meanwhile I got a placement in a multinational company in Guntur and every weekend I would visit Hyderabad and stay connected, and this happened for four years. One fine morning I resolved to stay put in Hyderabad and quit my job. I would stand outside producer Dil Raju’s office and director Rajamouli’s house every day hoping they would spot me, I did this every day for two or three months. Rajamouli said he was over-staffed and in case someone stops working, he would summon me. He noted down my name and number. I somehow got Dil Raju’s number and kept texting him every day. I was warned by his staff not to disturb him. I texted him ‘adhenti sir pani ippinchamantey warning ippincharu. He laughed at my text and I was called. I wanted to get into the direction department. He said he didn’t know anything about me and told me to get something that showcased my talent. I wrote down something immediately and went to him in half an hour and he was visibly pleased. He was convinced I could do something but told me not to get in touch with him for six months. I noted down his phone number in a book and deleted his contact from my phone. I texted him after six months and I was told to meet him immediately. I was directed to Srikanth Addala and the condition was I would work in his film only if he takes a liking for my work. I was roped in as an assistant director.
KBP:Tell us about your work experience with Srikanth Addala
SB: My first film as an AD was Kottha Bangaru Lokam, followed by Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu and then Mukunda. For Kottha Bangaru Lokam, there was a requirement for students who never worked in films. I went to the Bhashyam School and picked a few students, trained them and took videos, filtered the students. Sohail of Big Boss was roped in this way…I picked a group of girls and boys and Dil Raju told me to continue work with Srikanth Addala (Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu). The next task was to find old stuff like switch boards for the house set to be put up at Ramoji Film City. I toured the villages, purchased new switchboards and exchanged it for the old ones. This way I procured a lorry full of articles required for the house. Now the immediate job was to find a huge Jasmine plant and I found one after a great search in one village. It was a 35 year old Jasmine plant and an elderly lady who owned it said that she got it from her parents house during her marriage. She refused to uproot it and we couldn’t bring the artists to that place to shoot. Somehow I convinced her and got it with the roots intact, but the art department instead of putting it up at the front of the house, planted it near a freshly constructed wall and thanks to the cement it died. The regret will remain, though it served the purpose, the plant couldn’t stay alive. Whenever I visit RFC, I go to that house, there is a new Jasmine plant in that place and I am reminded about that moment.
KBP: Did you finally get a chance to direct?
SB: Just before I was asked to begin work for Mukunda, my mother whom I was attached to passed away and I was distraught and completely broken. I just took a break and disappeared. I was totally lost and clueless about my present and future and began touring the country on a Bullet. My family knew nothing about me, whereabouts and if I needed money, I would bank on my friends. I developed a clot in the brian, her death affected me physically and mentally. Dil Raju told me to start my film but this time I wasn’t ready or prepared. I had the story but I said I needed time and some more experience.
How long did you continue working in Dil Raju’s banner?
I stayed put with him for nearly five years. Post Mukunda, Venkatesh told me to tell him a story and I did. He liked it but due to inevitable reasons the film was shelved. Srikanth Addala wanted me for Brahmotsavam. I had toured India by then and knew most of the locations. I discussed many things with him that were related to the story. He was impressed and I finally got working on the casting, production design, location hunting etc. This was followed by Satamanam Bhavathi and by then I was ready with my subject. However the producer wanted me to finish this before embarking on my movie. Once that was done I narrated a story to him and he liked it and said this would be the launch film for his nephew.
KBP: What caused the delay?
SB: I was assigned to work for MCA and after that I got immersed with my script. Due to inevitable reasons, the producer decided on another story for Ashish and that was Rowdy Boys. I continued to work at SVC and used the time to write five films and five years passed by. I happened to bump into Ravi Prakash, my friend. He was the producer of Mantra. He was directing a film for his banner and told me to direct one for him. I narrated a point and things moved swiftly. Since I knew Anupama from Satamanam Bhavathi days, I narrated the story. This happened during the shoot of Rowdy Boys. I took Raju garu’s permission and we greenlit this project. Butterfly will be streaming on Disney Hotstar soon. It was shot in 28 days. I am on a new project now, and will reveal details soon. Since Butterfly was my first film, I had to do many things on my own but for the next project I am pretty much sure that my responsibility would be narrowed down to direction alone. Butterfly is like my visiting card and I needed this one to show what I had done. Had I approached production houses without Butterfly, people would have definitely asked me why I didn’t do a film for Dil Raju who is known for providing a break for newcomers. Delays, postponements of projects are part and parcel of the film industry and I believe we should move ahead positively and be persistent in our efforts….Y.Sunita Chowdhary
