Striking a balance

Venu Sriram is all set to make his directorial debut with Oh My Friend and he's quite confident about the film's success

The endless conflict of mind and heart is an eternal part of a filmmaker’s life and only a few manage to achieve what they set out to.

This is all the more true in case of debutant filmmakers since their first project is bound to have a long-lasting impact on their careers. But Venu Sriram shows no signs of confusion or dilemma as he walks out of a preview of his debut film Oh My Friend starring Siddharth, Shruti Haasan, Hansika and Navdeep. We ask him about the conflict he had to go thr­ough to make his debut film; after all it has taken him more than eight years to call the shots. “It took me eight years to strike a midway betw­een what I love and what wor­ks for the audience. I was extr­emely confident when I was directing the film. You can ask my producer if you don't beli­eve me,” he says pointing to Dil Raju and the latter nods in agreement. Our first impress­i­on about Venu Sriram was that of a guy who does what he loves in his life.

Born and brought up in Karimnagar, Venu Sriram mo­ved to Hyderabad for higher studies. He says that he has always been passionate about films but what led him to film direction makes for an interesting story. “I wasn’t happy with the way our films were being made. Since I love cinema, I joined Hyderabad Film Club in early 2000s and for two years I watched several foreign films. That was my first learning experience,” he recollects. Ask him about his influences since he likes world cinema, he replies, “I like new-wave filmmakers from different generations like Francois Truffaut, Géla Babluani and Alejandro González Iñárritu.” By sheer luck, he joined Dil Raju’s production house Sri Venkate­shw­ara Creations and Venu Sriram began working on several projects, which were being produ­ced by Dil Raju since Suk­umar's Arya. “I consider this production house as my home and I owe a lot to Dil Raju,” he adds.

Few months ago, Venu pr­ai­sed Dil Raju for being a gutsy producer and said that only a producer like him can agree to produce a film like Oh My Friend. What’s so risky about the project ? “I wouldn’t call it a risky project. Some films look very edgy on paper and not all producers would relate to it. But Dil Raju understands a director's point of view.

Talking of Oh My Friend, it’s been a three-year-long journey for Venu Sriram to see his dream come true. “I narrated a story to Dil Raju and he asked me whether I would like to work on Kotha Bangaru Lokam or stick to the concept I had narrated. I agreed to assist my friend Srikanth Addala for Kotha Bangaru Lokam and six months later I narrated a different story to Dil Raju. That was the beginning of Oh My Friend. Dil Raju liked the concept but he asked me to wait since he was already working on other projects like Josh and Mr Perfect,” he says. Apparently Venu Sriram had only Siddharth in mind while working on the project and decided to wait for his dates instead of approaching other actors. “People take Siddharth’s acting skills for granted. He’s a good actor but it’s not easy to be good every single day. He works really hard to be good and since I already worked with him in Bommarillu, I knew he was my hero,” he says.

Venu is extremely confident that his film will strike the right chord with people and it reflects in the way he talks. “Filmmaking is a personal expression for me. I just enjoy being on the sets of a film. In a way, I consider it as my playground,” he says. Since there’s always a struggle for survival, what would be his advice to aspiring filmmakers? “I feel that films should be a reflection of our lives. Most importantly, in the film industry you choices matter more than chances. You have to understand what would work or wouldn't work with our audience. All I can say is, don't lose your enthusiasm in your journey as a filmmaker,” he signs off.