Mohanakrishna Indraganti on ‘Sarangapani Jathakam’: I discovered the nuances of Priyadarshi’s performance on the edit table

Sarangapani Jathakam director Mohanakrishna Indraganti’s Telugu comedy, which releases on December 20, marks his completion of two decades in Telugu cinema. The writer-director, who has explored genres ranging from crime capers to romance dramas and screwball comedies to thrillers, describes his new film starring Priyadarshi Pulikonda and Roopa Koduvayur as a comedy with elements of social satire. 

Like many of his previous films, this one is also inspired by a literary work, but he is tight-lipped about the source. “I want the audience to discover it in the theatres. I have acknowledged the source material, as always,” says Indraganti at Sridevi Movies’ office in Srinagar Colony, Hyderabad. This is Indraganti’s third film to be produced by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad, after Gentleman and Sammohanam. 

Sarangapani Jathakam is Indraganti’s first full-fledged comedy film after Ami Thumi (2017), and the director observes that in the last few years, as cinema veered towards action entertainers, he wondered if the audience is getting desensitised by the excessive violence. “Some of my friends and family also rue that there are not many comedies they can watch together in theatres. That got me thinking, and I was keen to write a comedy.”

He describes Sarangapani… as a plot-based comedy and a blend of the styles of Ashta Chamma and Ami Thumi in bringing together romance, conflict, farcical comedy and social satire. Indraganti adds that he wrote Sarangapani… like an old-fashioned comedy and a hat tip to writers such as Peter Sellers, Woody Allen, Jandhyala, DV Narasu Raju, Mullapudi Venkata Ramana and Crazy Mohan. “I have enjoyed watching some of Kamal Haasan’s comedies — Michael Madana Kamarajan (Michael Madana Kamaraju in Telugu), Panchathanthiram, Brahmachari (Telugu version of Pammal K Sammandam) and Sathi Leelavathi — and admire the writing.”

Roopa Koduvayur and Priyadarshi in ‘Sarangapani Jathakam’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

In Sarangapani…, Priyadarshi plays the titular character, whose actions are influenced by astrology predictions. Though Indraganti does not believe in astrology, certain observations by his friend, who has a keen interest in palmistry, left him intrigued. “I wondered if this is like a weather forecast; if certain patterns can be predicted. Without dismissing the belief, I wanted to explore how overdependence on predictions can cause someone to lose a sense of rationale.”

Adapting to native culture

Ashta Chamma was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest while Ami Thumi was loosely based on Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s play The Duenna. While adapting or drawing inspiration from international literary works, Indraganti ensures that his narratives are rooted in Telugu culture. “I identify what would work culturally. The Importance of Being Earnest was set in a certain period in England and Oscar Wilde was attacking modernism; certain satirical elements could be adapted for Ashta Chamma. I identify adaptable social situations and characters and begin writing backstories for the characters, rooted in our culture.”

Having written and directed 12 films in 20 years, Indraganti credits his writing discipline and techniques to the foundations of learning screenwriting at York University, Toronto. A firm believer in some form of training for screenwriting and filmmaking, he says, “I hear a lot of people say that it is not necessary to go to film school and that one can just pick up a camera and shoot. Would we ever tell someone who wants to become a surgeon that if they are passionate enough, they can pick up a knife and perform surgery? Some training is beneficial. Go to a film school, watch the best of films, read film theories and the history of cinema or apprentice with a filmmaker. Watch the classics, both world cinema and Telugu, and you will discover your voice and aesthetic.” 

Learning the rules and structure of screenwriting, he says, is imperative if one wants to know how to break them. “Learning the craft will make us realise if we are overwriting a dialogue or a description.” 

Reflecting on his work, Indraganti states that to date, he is conscious of how the screenplay unfolds. He explains how he discusses with the film’s editor about arriving at a plot-inciting incident at the 15th or 17th minute. 

Indraganti reckons that writing the comedy Ami Thumi was easy, since it had a definite beginning, middle and end. “That story unfolds in a day and it was easier to handle. But not all films are easy to write.” While he does not disclose the source material of Sarangapani…, Indraganti says the challenge was in making a play that was set in a different time suitable to the contemporary context. “The original play that inspired Sarangapani… is structurally so well written. I just had to bring the characters, place them in the right context, and begin writing. I did not require the entire play for adaptation. I needed only some of the characters and sequences.”

Writer’s block

Mohanakrishna Indraganti, Vennela Kishore and Priyadarshi on set
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Indraganti calls writing a lonely process, compared to directing a film with collaborators such as cinematographers and editors. “When you write with discipline, it can take nearly six months to have the proper screenplay in place. Out of that, at least four months are devoted to rewriting, restructuring and deleting what is not required.” This is when one can hit writer’s block, he says. There are techniques to overcome the block, he explains from experience. “You can read or meet people; my process is to read. Though this is laborious or time-consuming, it helps to hit the sweet spot and complete writing.” Indraganti reminisces what the (late) writer-director Jandhyala had once told him: “He told me once that he wrote the dialogues for one of his films in three days; sometimes this process can take longer, maybe even a year.”

About his first collaboration with actor Priyadarshi, who had attended his guest lecture years ago as a wide-eyed student at the University of Hyderabad, Indraganti says he had been watching the actor closely. “I loved him in Mallesham, Mail (Kambalapalli Kathalu)and Balagam. When this story came up, I knew he would fit the role since his acting style with subtle humour would work.”

On what sets Priyadarshi apart from the others he has worked with earlier, Indraganti observes, “When you see him perform, you may think he could probably do a little more. But on the edit table, you realise how many options he has given you. He has the ability to embed his performance with so many subtle nuances that you may not notice with the naked eye; the camera can capture it and then we can edit those pauses to build a particular emotion. It is a joy working with him.” 

In the case of Roopa Koduvayur, who debuted with director Venkatesh Maha’s Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya, the adaptation of the Malayalam film Maheshinte Prathikaram, Indraganti says he has mostly preferred to cast Telugu-speaking women as leading ladies and in this film, the character required someone who could speak Telugu fluently and fast. “Her performance in UMUR was like an audition for me, I did not audition her again.”

As a parting shot, Indraganti says that none of the actors, including Harsha, Vennela Kishore, Srinivas Avasarala and Naresh, portray characters they have done earlier. “All these talented actors, each with a different approach to humour, made the characters come to life.”