Art director Macherla Mohana Venkata Sudheer’s third film is in post production and the release date will be announced soon. The twenty five year old Guntur born handsome and soft spoken youth talks about how his amassing knowledge from each of his projects has helped him grow and hopes to do wonders some day. Excerpts from a conversation with Y.Sunita Chowdhary of Klapboardpost.com. Beduru Lanka 2012 is Sudheer’s third film. Sr Kalyana Mandapam and Sammathame are the first two films.
Q)Did films happen by chance?
A) My interest in movies was general since college days, nothing specific. I have done Bachelors in architecture from School Of Planning And Architecture in Vijayawada after intermediate. This degree helped me a lot in art direction, be it set designing, budgeting, execution etc. Every B.arch student wants to do either masters or begin his own practice and so when I was doing my B.arch internship in Hyderabad, I got to meet an art director randomly through my chief architect. He had some designing requirements and since I was an intern at his firm, the art director hired me for a 15 day stint for the Nithiin starrer ‘Check’ to do a 3D design. It was my first exposure to that field of work. It had a prison backdrop. Art director Vivek was looking for a junior architect for 3D design and through his acquaintance with my chief architect, I got this opportunity.
Q)Have you mentally decided to take up cinema as a career?
A)It was only then that I understood that there is a place for design in the film industry. After internship, I finished the 5th year of my studies. Vivek then called and said there was a lot of work to do for ‘Check’…prison designs, lay out designs, case studies, background studies and detailing. He asked if I was interested in working. Around that time I was thinking of taking a break for a year before Masters. I appeared for the GATE and got a placement in IIT Kharagpur but preferred this. My father’s only concern was to know if I was enjoying my work or not. It was a struggle initially as for the work I was doing I was not being paid well. I was more qualified and efficient compared to others art assistants and set assistants but I was also aware that I had a big budget film in my hands as a first opportunity.
Q)Did you adapt to the filmi atmosphere easily?
A)The plus point was I wasn’t here to learn something, I came here to execute something which I already know, my educational background helped a great deal. I was quick at understanding and I was only taking time to adapt to the work environment. I thought I was here for pre production work only and was signed for the project but since I had gone through a lot of research, director Yeleti Chandrasekhar evinced keen interest and we had detailed discussions and did four or five months of pre production. He told me to execute the project since I designed it. I understood how carpenters work etc, I was quick to adapt and the project helped. I understood how cinema functions, but I needed more experience. Luckily, during lockdown, there was a break for ‘Check’ and I didn’t do work for the last one month. Around the same time the team of SR Kalyana Mandapam was looking for someone young and they consulted me. ‘Check’ was in a dilemma and wasn’t starting, they were in a pause mode and I sought permission from them and took this up. SR Kalyana Mandapam was for one or two months and I finished it. It was more of management and had small sets like a local bar etc. I got the confidence of handling that scale of movies since by then I knew the craft and learnt the process. The DoP Daniel Vishwas and I were on the same page and the journey turned very smooth. The like-mindedness helped and we are roommates now.
Q)How did you bag Beduru Lanka 2012?
A)Kiran Abbavaram referred me first for Sammathame and that went on for a year. There was a second lockdown and delay in between. Those couple of years were tough as there wasn’t any payment happening and I did some freelancing stuff. Bedurulanka was the first project where I got paid for my work. Initially I wasn’t on money as getting an opportunity was difficult. I didn’t want to disrespect that opportunity. I am doing Rules Ranjan now which is again Kiran Abbavaram film and Jyothi Krishna is the director. By now I became confident of Beduru Lanka or pulling off any medium budget films. I had been exposed enough to handle carpenters and other craftsmen. The producers too trusted me as my motto had always been to stay cost efficient, how to use and reuse material well. They knew I was averse to wastage and I would ask only if I required something specifically.
Q)How did you form your team?
A)I was acquainted with technicians during the making of ‘Check’ in Sarathi Studios. I was staying there only and interacted with them. They became good friends and didn’t treat me like a newcomer. I was a part of a healthy circle. I also got used to doing last minute handling, late night work and any work pressure. The SR Kalyana Mandapam team was supportive and we used to stay in one house in Rayachoti and would converse three hours about a plan of action the next day. For Beduru Lanka, we tried to implement a theme. All Godvari films look pleasant so I suggested warm tones and a raw, rustic look since it is a thriller. Director Clax trusted me. Bedurulanka had two DoPs and Sunny Korrapati was one of them whom I knew since Middle Class Melodies shoot. I did the hotel set of Middle Class Melodies, we were doing both Check and MCM for the same production. Here, I learnt how to be a bridge between two DoPs. By the end of the project I had made up my mind to focus on one project and give it all my best. Doing multiple films is not my forte right now.
q)Tell us about the stint in Godavari for the Bedurulanka shoot
A) Godavari was a challenging location. We couldn’t take anything there as it will not be cost effective. We used locally available material to bring nativity and also I had friends there in and around the villages who were very supportive. It was a packed schedule and we had to finish in fewer days. I was working relentlessly in collaboration with the direction team and co-director. I would bifurcate bigger and small scenes and allot time accordingly. The direction team was very helpful. In Hyderabad, we could call people and they would send materials and we would pay later. Here I learnt material sourcing, talking to people etc and luckily the art assistant of ‘Check’ Narayan Reddy who is a senior was helpful to me for all the three films.
