Srivathsan Nadadhur
When I call Radhika Lavu a producer over a phone call, she tells me that she prefers to be called a filmmaker and that she’s as involved in the creative process as the other members in the filmmaking team. The founder of Ellanar Films hogged the limelight the previous year when she produced a web show, Gods of Dharmapuri for ZEE5, that was labelled as the tipping point in the Telugu streaming space. GOD, directed by Anish Kuruvilla for Ellanar, was a perfect marriage of great filmmaking, substance and style and nearly a year into its release, it still stands tall as a benchmark for several show-creators in the Telugu land.
Radhika has handled a wide variety of domains, making documentaries for Andhra Pradesh Government (prior to the bifurcation), conceiving ad films, making short films, corporate films through her banner, associating with brands like Freedom Oil, Golden Harvest and Big Bazaar. She learnt the ropes of filmmaking from Goldsmiths College, University of London and now has a decade-long experience of telling stories in various forms. Klapboardpost.com takes the readers through Radhika Lavu’s journey over the years and the life lessons it had taught her.
A career made out of timely opportunities
I attempted to challenge myself at every step and looked for avenues where I could learn. I was 21 when I was offered the job of making documentaries for the AP Government, fresh out of film school and I jumped (and was stoked) at the opportunity given to me. I grew up in Delhi completely and graduated from St. Francis; my Telugu wasn’t at its best but I had to cater to the rural populace in AP for the documentaries. The idea of filmmaking that I had learnt during my education in London wasn’t quite accessible here.
I had to explore, understand ground realities, the process was extremely challenging and satisfying at the same time. I knew the craft and what went into the making of a film, but my audiences were a different lot. Burra kathalu, oggu kathalu, palle suddulu became an integral element of the storytelling. Filmmaking in London and the rural side of AP were two poles apart. My team members were supportive in terms of the making of the content.
Scaling new peaks
I wanted to move on from documentary filmmaking and whatever I did later, be it ad films, short films, corporate films or web series, storytelling was the common thread binding my ambitions. All of it may not have been extremely thought out, but I utilised opportunities at the right time and as per the needs of the market. The short film boom had just begun in the 2010s and everyone was trying their hand at the format – it gave us a chance to refine our craft, tell new stories. I started my production house, Ellanar and we dabbled with TVCs, shorts, corporate films and it took time for us to grow. I’ve always believed in quality of the work more than the quantity, because I truly enjoy the process.
On education in film school
Every filmmaker’s journey is fraught with ups and downs – either you’re educated in that craft or you learn on the ground. Every journey is unique, every journey is their own. My education with filmmaking equipped me with the rules of the process I had to know as a beginner and chart my way. How you use that knowledge to tell stories is your journey. I watch films regardless of genre and language, it has helped me understand storytelling in many dimensions. Cinema made a positive impact on me as a teenager, adult and I was always drawn towards the big screen.
This journey has taught me that a filmmaker always needs to learn the art of making a product keeping the audience in mind. As a filmmaking student, I and most of my classmates were mostly absorbed in the process of telling a story to the best of our abilities. However, through the course, we had to understand that they were meant to create an impact on the audience. We may make mistakes in the process but there must not be any fear in making those mistakes, because it’s the effort that matters. The effort helps you master the craft. Not everyone needs to learn the ropes of filmmaking through formal education. Quentin Tarantino never attended any school, but ended up making pathbreaking films.
About the role of a producer
The most common misconception about film producers is that they only deal with financial aspect. While we, as producers, need to be financially responsible for the project, the most important part is working with the creative team to deliver the best possible version of it. A significant chunk of our work involves creative thinking and is the most gratifying part of our job. Being a producer, I wanted to know every aspect of the process and love the intimacy with the project from conception to completion. I like my work as a producer and shaping up my project intrinsically the way I always wanted. I see myself directing in the future too.
The making of Gods of Dharmapuri
The synopsis of Gods of Dharmapuri (GOD) was written by a group of writers – it came to me in a rough format and as we pitched the story to ZEE5, we were suggested some changes that had to be incorporated. As a producer, I had charted the way for the project. Even before (the director) Anish Kuruvilla came on board, we were sure of the trajectory of the story. My core team always keeps suggesting me to direct a project, but who would produce it? We were already running short of time for GOD.
We choose our teams very carefully and GOD was a big project as an independent producer in terms of scale and vision. Working with Anish was a great learning curve and being a producer gave me a lot of time to absorb inputs from the team members. It was an eye opener in understanding a director’s thought process, his way of working and directorial skill. There are certain stories that tell the truth about our shared humanity and finding market value for it isn’t easy. I was fortunate enough to find that, collaborating with ZEE5. I am absorbing as much as I can, through these experiences.
Adapting with various forms of storytelling
Television commercials require you to pack a message in an entertaining exterior within seconds. The message has to be crystal clear and the content needs to be engaging – balancing both is a challenge. Making a 400-minute show in a certain number of days with a certain team across various locations is no less challenging. The thought process is to put good content across the table irrespective of the length. Each and every second counts. The longer format certainly gives you a lot of time to establish characters, their backstories, inhibitions and interpersonal relationships. The shorter format doesn’t give you that liberty, needs to be crispier, requires an effort that’s precise and also captures the imagination of the viewer.
Gender, no barrier for filmmaking
Filmmaking is a collaborative art and the gender parity within that process is generally in your hands. It may not be the same case for everyone. I’ve been fortunate to have a wonderful community of artistes, crew around me who don’t want anything but to create more content. I push everyone, including myself, to do the best. Through my journey, I’ve been fortunate to have not faced discrimination in terms of gender, working with thorough professionals Men can be the support system for women too – my grandpa, father, colleagues around me, have all believed in quality and that’s how my path has been set.
Dos and don’ts while pitching a story to a streaming platform
The key to pitching your content to a streaming platform is to have a good story and being aware of who the target audience is. Many times storytellers focus on what they want to tell but don’t think if the audiences will listen or even are ready for that. To many filmmakers who come and pitch stories to me, I ask them what makes them want to tell this story to audiences at this point of time. It’s a valid question for me as a producer to introspect. As a producer, we keep interacting with the streaming platforms regularly and are in sync with what the market wants, what may be consumed well at this point of time.
The budgets of shows are increasing by the day and so are the expectations and the filmmakers need to be attuned to this. OTT platforms are more than inviting to explore new stories and the need of the hour is content. There’s space for everyone and every story to be told – you need to know its USP, tell it at the right time and find the right collaborator. Packaging needs to be as good as the making. When GOD came to me, I loved the fact that it was an underdog story and being a big fan of Godfather, certain aspects of the film reflected in the show. When the content was ready, we intentionally put up our publicity photographs in black and white. The grainy tone was aimed to grasp the attention of the audience and tell that the show is set in a different period and help them get into that zone.
Judging the scope of a show to last multiple seasons
As the story is being written and the actors for the project are being cast and head towards production, you come to realise the elasticity, scope of the characters – their grey shades, the evolution over time. With GOD, I realised that we needn’t limit ourselves to season one and I felt there was so much more to tell. For me, it was about creating a new universe. The story is ultimately about a migrant family that moves to a mining town for better prospects in life and that’s the true story of millions across the globe.
Within the location, Dharmapuri, where it is set, there can be more stories and we can even move to another interior part of a Telugu land to tell another underdog tale. Sky is the limit – within GOD itself, be it characters like Venu Reddy, Saroja, Satyanand, you know there’s more to them than what’s being told. While the writers of GOD were thrilled to know that the show had the range to last multiple seasons, I informed them that this was still an experiment and I wanted to see the reaction of the audiences to begin with. Our hopes didn’t fail us and there’s a lot more that we want to tell.
Budgeting for a project
From being given minuscule budgets to shoot my documentary films to making short films sans any money where one is bound by passion, working with a limited crew besides getting to helm commercials on a good scale, I’ve experienced filmmaking at several levels in terms of the financials and the canvas of the project. For the Assamese film Village Rockstars, for instance, the director took on the job of multiple crew members on a set and the story was still so heartwarming. It reminded me that budgets are not always the criteria to tell a great story.
It’s funny that some filmmakers come to me with a story and say that they would be ready to make a film if they were given a budget of 1 crore. I humbly ask them how they had arrived at the figure; when they don’t have an answer, I later tell them this could be done under 10 lakhs too. It’s all about the expanse of the project. GOD cannot be made on a small budget and we made the show with a budget of at least 2-3 films put together. Not all projects merit similar budgets, production is a carefully chartered process and requires us to go backwards every time – it involves actors, locations, permissions, pre-production, production, post-production. How much will the project require and how much will it fetch the investors back? These are lessons I’ve learnt across years interacting with many people within the profession across the world.
Handling a production house in the middle of a pandemic
All of us didn’t know where we were heading. I had to tell my team that I can’t control the world and I could only control my sphere, by staying focused, being optimistic and waiting for the veil to be lifted gradually. I had asked them to research, equip themselves with newer skills, I myself had begun to sketch and draw during this phase. If I have to tell a scene or a story to someone, I might as well do my storyboard now. As a creative team, it so happens that we tend to turn a blind eye to the technology aspect and what better time than now to understand editing, sound or other aspects? It’s a time to keep ourselves busy. All of us are hungry to get back because it’s an unprecedented time for everyone.
Resuming action at Ellanar after COVID-19
I was quite surprised how my whole team braved this hour and were so excited to be on the set, create something. Pre-production was done remotely and I was quite humbled to witness the excitement. My client, Freedom Oil, wanted to come out with an ad discussing the safety measures they follow. My team had no second thoughts about working on it; it was as if the pandemic had never existed. There was caution during the production and the rules were followed. The zest for coming together and giving our best, was nothing different.