Y.Sunita Chowdhary
The director of Uppena, Buchi Babu Sana’s love for films comes from his genes. His mother was a big movie buff and would watch all the films that released on Friday. His maternal uncles told him that they thought she would deliver her baby in the theatre – that was the frequency of films she watched. Buchi Babu on his part inherited this quality and would narrate the stories after watching the films to his friends. “I was in the eighth standard and most often narrated the entire story, giving them a real cinematic experience to those who were about to buy the tickets. My mother, on the contrary, was strict and forbid me from going to the theatre. My sister is a doctor, MD in General Medicine at Rajahmundry. After my 10th, I joined Intermediate at Aditya College in Kakinada where I met Sukumar.”
His rapport with Sukumar
Sukumar was from Amalapuram, Razole. He would stay in a hostel in Kakinada and teach him Mathematics at Aditya College. Buchi Babu was one of the few students (out of the 3,000 students in the college) who were close to the director. The proximity was such that Sukumar had disclosed to Buchi Babu and his group that he was writing scripts intending to become a director. “Sukumar was also like us, a diehard fan of Chiranjeevi and warned us not to bunk classes on the day Chiranjeevi’s film released. However, he would give us money to buy the tickets and let us watch the film only after his class got done. He left the college and upon the completion of my Intermediate (MPC), I took up a degree course in Chaitanya college, Kakinada. During that time, Sukumar began directing Aarya. He took hardly 3 or 4 years to become a director after he moved to Hyderabad. I would tell my friends that if he could teach Math in such an interesting manner, he would have surely shot the film well too.”
He adds, “My friends never believed in me. But when Aarya released and turned into a blockbuster, they realised sir’s potential. Back then, I just finished my B.Sc (computers) and planned to move to Hyderabad and meet Sukumar. I was confident I would impress him because I remember my friends telling me that my narration was better than what was shown in films. I began reading books on cinema bolstered by that encouragement. My friends in Razole also encouraged me to pursue my dreams. However back home, the situation was not the same. They advised me either to start a business or get married. They, like others, thought working in the film industry is not a right and a secure thing to do. People at home were conservative, they never watched second shows but I was different from the rest. In Hyderabad, my landlord doesn’t know that I work in the movie industry, I am that secretive.”
The seed to Uppena
Buchi Babu did meet Sukumar in Hyderabad but was advised to finish his studies, get a degree and show him the certificate. He cracked a good rank in ICET and studied MBA at Pragati Mahavidyalaya in Hyderabad. The director roped him in as an assistant director after gauging his interest and passion for cinema. From then in he worked in Aarya 2, 100 % Love, 1 Nenokkadine, Kumari 21F, Nannaku Prematho and Rangasthalam. Anyone who works with Sukumar is known to get the encouragement and confidence to be on their own soon. “I worked as an associate and also on the script of Rangasthalam. During the shoot, he would say it is time to write a story and Uppena happened. It took exactly six months to write Uppena and a year for the development and to go on floors. Sukumar liked it immensely. I was asked to narrate the story to Koratala Siva and Chiranjeevi. I narrated the story twice to Chiranjeevi, each narration extending to four hours. After listening to the script, he turned around towards Vaishnav Tej and asked, “Will you act in it or shall I do it?”. We then later roped in Vijay Sethupathi. I have seen Vikram Vedha and thought he was apt for the role.”
Initially, it was said that the movie will be made on a shoestring budget, but then it went overboard. Is it worth spending so much on a newcomer? “Generally, they don’t invest that budget on a newcomer, but now the market has also expanded. It all depends on the story. Even Prabhudeva was a newcomer at the time of Premikudu. The producers invested the money knowing its worth. They are warm people and never questioned me. There wasn’t any unnecessary expense. The shoot took place against the background of a sea. It was indeed a challenging task. The challenge came from the local people. We faced problems from local fishermen who are usually drunk. Although I am familiar with the places and people, we still had to face issues. The locals would come into the frame often and I had to re-shoot the scene. It was a major disturbance. It would be difficult to shoot such scenes indoor. The shooting was done at Uppada beach, Kakinada. Since it was summer, it became increasingly difficult to work in humidity. If it rained, there was no end to our ordeal. The entire set would vanish, the house built for the hero would be washed away by the waves. The waves are unpredictable at night, and the makeshift house tent would go away. We would rebuild it in the mornings again. We faced that situation almost 4-5 times. Outdoor shoots are very exasperating. The production house donated generously to the temple being constructed by those locals.”
On Vaishnav Tej
This being his debut film, how did he handle a star villain as well as two newcomers? “I saw Vaishnav on social media and zeroed in on him for Aasi (short form of the character Aasirvadam). I mentioned it to Sukumar and he summoned Vaishnav to Ella Hotels in Gacchibowli where we were working on the script of Rangasthalam. Vaishnav has sparkling eyes and resembles Chiranjeevi’s father. (Even Chiranjeevi had said the same) After I spoke to Vaishnav, we got him trained at Bhikshu’s acting school. Within three months, he picked up the nuances of acting well. He has learnt all the stuff necessary for films, and I am sure he will be in the top league soon.” The shoot took place for 105 days and the unit scouted over 2000 newcomers for the heroine’s role. A girl called Manisha was finalised for the muhurat but by the time film went on floors they roped in another girl. She is Kriti Shetty from Bengaluru but settled in Mumbai.
How was Sukumar’s reception to the show? Sukumar got emotional and was apparently moved despite knowing the story well. At the end of the show, he hugged Buchi Babu and remarked that it was like his son directing the film. He had watched Buchi Babu grow up and was obviously thrilled at the outcome. Buchi Babu says, “The film will certainly be liked by women and I am sure they will give a standing ovation. The same night, Devi Sri Prasad along with his 15-member team watched it and applauded and even Koratala sir liked it. All the credit goes to Mythri Movies producers Naveen and Ravi; but for them, this film wouldn’t have come out this well.”
