When I am in a mood to write, I write for 10, 12, 16, hours a day. If I stop it takes me days and weeks to start again. So I was going with the flow.

I feel so happy after writing my first full length comedy script, not that it is best ever written or something like that. It just the discovery, that I can write comedy.

If the one dialogue from the movie “finding forester” taught me the art of writing, then it is my good  friend Aneesh who told me I am good enough to write a comedy, Thank you Aneesh for your belief in me and your encouragement, Happy Diwali.

Happy and prosperous Diwali to everyone, have a safe Diwali..

Back to my writing…

I will start with my protagonist, as I said earlier, she is a girl and her name in the movie is Sreya…

Who can be Sreya? This was the question I asked everyone around me. Each person had a name to say, but none said Swathi. And that was the name I was thinking. When I suggested the name, everyone was very sure that she will carry off the first half without any difficulty, but the second half, they were not sure at all.

I was sure; something inside me told me Swathi is Sreya… my producer and my co director agreed with me and once Swathi agreed to do the film the project was on.

Who will do the Srinu character. My choice was Kamal. I had just seen Avakai biryani, I thought he would fit into the character like glove. So our hero was signed.

Next was getting Nazar garu to do Rao character. But he had dates problem. We looked at few options, but we had either dates problem or money problem. That is the time a friend of mine suggested Mr. Vikram ghokle’s name. I immediately called him, narrated the subject on the phone and the next day he was on our cast.

For Sashtry character I wanted Thanikala Bharani garu come what may. Here is one actor whom I knew for a long time and I always dreamt of working with this great actor. He heard the story and readily agreed to do the film.

Delhi Rajeshvari, sudeepa, had no alternates. One of my assistant directors was related to komli sisters, so they came in. Around this time Venu, who had earlier worked with me for ‘hope’ called me and said sir I want to work in your film. I had no role for him. He had done 5 or six films as a hero, but he insisted that he be a part of my project, even if it is a small guest appearance. So he joined the cast, Thank you Venu.

Swathi is a director’s actor, behind that person Swathi we see every day, there is a very intelligent girl, a girl with lot of emotions and talent waiting to be tapped

Though it was Swathi’s character that was tough to execute, one thing that helped both of us to execute the charter of Sreya was, she gave in to me totally. She was like clay and I could mold her the way I wanted.

In fact when I look back I feel we both were living the character Sreya… There was some secret bonding between us; we could communicate with each other without saying many words.

For those 5 months, nothing mattered to me but my character Sreya, her world, her life and her journey. I literally lived her character for those 5months… it was so obvious, that few people close to me felt it also. I also realised that, Swathi was also living that character along with me… That is what made her performance so real and easy for her. It was not Swathi who used to walk on to the sets and try to act the character of Sreya; I could only see Sreya walking on to the sets every single day of the shoot. Once you see the movie you will understand what I am talking about..

I have a feeling that she will walk away with the best actress award this year for ‘Kalavaramaye Madilo.’

Kamal Kamaraju… I had met Kamal a year and half ago, much before he did avakai biryani. The day I saw avakai, I said he is Srinu of KVM. As I said in the audio function, I don’t know whether he will become a star or not. But he will definitely be remembered as a good actor. He is an honest, dedicated hardworking actor. He prepares for his role very meticulously. You don’t see much of him in the publicity or promos, not because he has a small role, but because he is a surprise package in the film.
Thanikala bharani garu was different, he could switch on and off in a second. He was always himself on the sets, full of fun and poetry. He used to transform himself into the character only few seconds before the shot. It was a delight to work with this great actor.

Vikram Ghokle sir is different, he used to prepare himself for the character much before the shoot, and he used to ask a number of questions to understand the character and its need. Mostly because this was his first film in Telugu. Also because he is from the theater and that is how they prepare for a character. Wow, what an actor he is… a man with 30 years of experience in acting, editing, directing and writing. He still does theater. Sir, thank you very much, it was a pleasure and honor working with you.

I once again had the great fortune of working with S.P. Balasubrahmanyam garu,(he had dubbed for Ramanaidu Garu in my first film ‘hope’) he dubbed for Mr. Ghokle. I was 100% sure that it is going to be him who is going to dub for this Rao character. What a job he did, it is for all of you to see and cherish. Apart from his singing, he has also mastered the art of dubbing. He is an institution in himself. I have learnt so much from him.

Delhi Rajeshwari garu, has done a good job in this film. To me her casting was done the day I conceived the mother’s role. She looks is every bit the character. See for yourself and decide.

Sudeepa, she is another girl with lot of talent, she is very professional and dedicated to work. Though she did a small role she left her stamp in the film.

Then there are a lot of kids, and the little stars called komli sisters. They all did their job so well.

Basava paidi reddy is the editor of this film. He had edited my first film ‘hope’ too. He was an automatic choice. So was Mr. Madhusudhan Reddy for dts mix. These are the people who will be with me for a long time to come. Bhoopal wrote the dialogues for the film, more about him and the story in my next blog.

Rajendra handled the camera for this film.

Songs are something I always dreamt of directing and this film has 8 songs. I was all excited and planning days before the shoot. So, when it came to choosing a choreographer, the first name that came to my mind was Nixon master.since have known him from 10 years or more.

It was fun working with Nixon; by the way he choreographed 6 songs in the films. Two songs ‘Onene’ and ‘Nilo Anuvanth’ were choreographed by Sreedhar master; He also did a good job.

And the sad part of the entire film – I was not there to shoot these two songs. Why? I was in Chennai getting the background score done with Sharreth sir (as I had to meet a deadline set by the producer.)

Before all these I had to choose my department team. Srivastav, I had heard a lot about him. He had worked with Y.V.S Chowdary garu, Krishna Vamsi garu and when a common friend of us suggested his name I said ok. So he came in as a co- director, his contribution to the completion of the film cannot be measured at all. In simple words, without him this project would have not been done. Thank you Srivastav garu.

Then there was Prashanth, Swaroopa, Durga, Vasu and Hari, who joined the team. They were a great help to me, thank you guys. I would love to take them along to my next project.

The film was shot in 49 days, in three schedules. Starting from 2nd of Feb. to the first copy on 18th of June, it was a journey and an experience I can never forget. I learnt so much working with Mr. Ghokle and Bharani garu……. Swathi was a delight to work with. So was kamal and the rest of the cast and crew.

My first choice of Music director for this film was Iliya Rajaa garu, second choice was Keeravani garu. Both did not fit into the budget of the film. The other name for consideration was Mr. Radhakrishna.

While we were discussing about the names, Mr. Mohan the producer of the film proposed the name of Mr. Sharreth. I asked him, is he the same person we see on ‘Asianet’ channel as a judge. He said yes.

Without batting an eyelid I said he is our music director (why? refer to my earlier article). Mr. Mohan immediately called him and I spoke to him… Mr. Sharreth was our music director.

In a couple of days Mr. Sharreth came to Hyderabad. I told him the story, He liked it very much. I wanted 8 songs in the film. He was excited, but there was a catch, it was, he has to compose the second song in the film with mistakes. I also told him, sir I need a song people can connect to, a song which sounds good to a normal audience. A song which can become very popular, yet it should have mistakes… He said, with mistakes, but why? I explained the need of it. He laughed at me but agreed, because he understood the need, for the story.

Next was who will write our lyrics..

Good music requires good lyrics, period! They go hand in hand. While I understand that we live in a world of flashy visuals and electronically generated music, a time where lyrics are increasingly becomingly redundant. My story needed lyrics that could compliment and contribute to the spirit and soul of the movie. It was as important to me as everything else. I did not want to compromise an inch even. Many names cropped up. There were suggestions to distribute the songs amongst the lyricists we had filtered. I was against the idea. I wanted only one lyricist for this film, a person who understands the story and who can dedicate unstinted commitment for this movie, with his pen and his thoughts, a person who will own the script and give me all that he has including time.

My Co-director Mr. Srivastav suggested Mr. Vanamali’s name. Without any further discussion he was in our team.

The first tune Mr. Sharreth gave us was the title song.

When Mr. Vanamali wrote the lyrics and the song was ready …. It was a dream comes true for me. The first song of my career… what a song it turned out to be. Everyone’s favourite without any doubt..

The climax song took the maximum time to write and to compose. I wanted the song in a particular way. I had to tell a lot of story, there was a lot of drama happening in that song. Though Sharreth sir gave me a lot of beautiful tunes, but none suited my imagination. We were running out of time and we were going nowhere. So I told Vanamali garu to first write the lyric and then we will work on the tune. It was not an easy task for him.

After writing the first five lines the pen was not moving any further. There was a block….

He went back to the script read it once again, again and again, after 20 days he came up with the climax song…what a song it is, everyone who has   heard it and can decide how good the song is. When you see it in the theatres you will understand how well he was in sync with me and my story… fantastic… looking forward to work with you Vanamali garu in many more projects to come.

The choice of singers for this film was only two, Sunitha garu to sing the first few songs and the climax song to be sung by Chitra garu. I felt their voice cultures were close. Because I believed if the character in the film is a singer then we should have one kind of voice for all the songs. One day we said why not only chitra garu for all the songs.. Sharreth sir said ok.. Mr. Mohan the producer said ok. So the legendary, the one and only, Isai Kuyil , Chitra garu (Tamil word, Isai means music and Kuyil means Koel ) sang all the songs for the film, except the ‘o nene’ piece, because Sharat sir and I decided to introduce a new singer called Kalpana. Though Chitra garu was supposed to sing this song also, but we liked Kalpana’s voice so much what we dint feel like changing her voice. We went with our instinct. It’s another story that it turned out to be true. Listen to that mellifluous number and you will understand what I just said.

There is this one incident that I must share with you. We had recorded all the songs. There was only one remaining (Tholi Tholi..song), the song that had to be rendered with mistakes. Chitra garu was waiting in the recording room; Vanamali garu and I were waiting for Sharreth sir to record that song. Sharreth sir seemed to be doing everything else but record that number. I began to feel a little restless. I looked at Vanamali garu and realised that he was feeling the same uneasiness. I asked him to speak to Sharreth Sir and find out, if there was any issue. Vanamali garu asked Sharreth sir, about his predicament. Hesitantly Sharreth sir said, ‘I don’t know how I should ask such a great singer to sing a song with so many mistakes. Let’s get some other singer to sing this piece, please’.

I completely understood and empathised with Sharreth sir’s dilemma, but i knew why i wanted Chitra Garu and why I wanted only her to render the song. I told him that I will speak to Chitra garu and convince her to sing that song. He was a little relieved. He said ok. Vanamali garu and I went into the recording studio, and told her the story line of the film. She liked it very much; she said it is very interesting. Then I told her that the second song has been purposely composed with subtle mistakes in it and that she will have to sing the song with those mistakes. She was taken aback and in her usual cherubic smile said ‘aiyo, Do I have to sing a song with mistakes’. I said yes and explained to her, the importance of that song in the film, the purpose that song in the film.

Hats off to her! After listening to what I had to say, she said ‘If that’s the requirement of the subject, I will sing it sir… let’s do it’ and she got up. Sharreth sir was a relieved man.

It’s very difficult for geniuses to commit mistakes, and more importantly on purpose. It’s a herculean task for people of such talent. They don’t understand the ‘m’ of mistake, and I was asking her to do it consciously. In hindsight I realise and appreciate what Chitra garu had done. Let me take this opportunity to thank her. Thank you Chitra Garu! You did something that’s against your personality and talent, for a story that I believed in. Thank you once again.

By the way, the maximum time she took to sing any song in this film was for this song…

At the end of the day, I take a bow to this genius called Mr. Sharreth … thank you for the wonderful music you gave for the film Kalavaramaye Madilo.

All the songs in the film are situational…. They   either tell a story or take the story forward. Listen to them and have fun. Give me your feedback. Both bouquets and brickbats are welcome.

So bye for now… enjoy the music… by the way there is a surprise waiting for you while you are watching the film… what ?,, can’t wait till then .. Want a clue…God you people are impossible… ok what the heck.. Please look out for the background score…

Satish Kasetty

One day my dear friend Ribu introduced me to a star singer show on Asia net channel. Though I did not understand a word of Malayalam, I used to watch the programme every day.  It is an amazing show because every one hour episode used to exhibit only two songs. The way the rendered song was dissected and the various nuances and subtle elements of music that the judges discussed with the participants, was phenomenal. As a Lay person with a musical ear, I was amazed on realising such subtle variations to music. I gathered that there is a great difference between the listening ear of a layman who enjoys music and the listening ear of an expert who understands music. What looked like a good song when the singer rendered it , became a song with mistakes when the judge spoke about it. Wow. That was something… on of the judge in the show is Mr. Sharreth ( kalavaramaye Madilo music director)  Another seed was sowed …

Watching all the reality shows on singing these days on Television, I kept wondering, what happens to all those winners being announced every year? What happens to them? Where are they? Where are they headed? How are they coping? Why don’t we hear about them? Why are they not coming up? Why are these kids not establishing themselves? Too many unanswered questions…One more seed was sown…

These mutually exclusive incidents pushed me to research about music.. because, I decided, that was the subject  for my next film.

I asked a few friends who knew about music to help me, some refused, and some laughed at me. All of them had one thing to say, go to a music director and get the tunes, tie that to a story and make the film. What they couldn’t fathom was that I wanted to know more about music. I always had a good ear; I could always differentiate between good and bad. What i needed was knowledge… to know more… and for that I needed more questions to be asked and more answers to be sought. I knocked more than a few doors in my endeavour, but no avail. Finally I decided to take another route. I checked my bank account balance and gathered that there was just about enough money to purchase a keyboard. The next day I   purchased one and managed to hire a teacher to teach me the basics of Carnatic music.

My journey as a student of   music began that day. So there I was, learning and seeking questions and answers on one side and on the other side I was conceiving my characters, my story…

I wanted to make a heroine centric film right from the beginning..So my central character was a girl. I was putting all the years of my experience as an observer of people and their different behaviours, attitudes, tastes, likes , dislikes, ambitions, fears, joys, achievements, failures,   into the characters that I was creating. In the meantime my music teacher was spending extra hours with me and was helping me with the answers to all the questions that were cropping up in my head .He knew I was writing a script with music as the creative fulcrum. Therefore he was extra nice and accommodating with me and helped me a lot….

Six months passed I had the first draft of the script in front of me… and I was playing few songs on the key board… I was playing geethams too…. Seeing the first draft, I knew the road ahead was tough… yet I kept moving and started working on my second draft. Slowly my music classes were taking a back seat as I was getting more involved with my project. I could sense my characters taking shape and appearing live in front of me, slowly I started living my characters… I was in a different world.. I was enjoying it..It is an ecstatic feeling.. a creative high. That was the greatest joy I discovered as a story teller.

The flip side was that I couldn’t give the deserved time to the music classes…Gradually, I reduced spending time on the key board.. The story had me consumed totally… the characters, the script, was taking away all my time. It was time to choose between music and the script… I had to stop the music classes and I did.

I loved those music classes… I will go back to them sometime soon….

After 16months and 14 drafts I was ready with the final script. It was around this time   I found the producer ready to back the project. That’s when KVM was ready to move out of my head and heart. It was ready to embark a new journey, what I call the ‘story to movie’ journey with Mohan media creations…on Feb 2^nd 2009.

Around that time Dill Raju was kind enough to give the title KVM to my subject, which he had registered for his project.. Thank you Raju garu once again… that was really very nice of you.

Watch out for more trivia, snippets and interesting peeps on KVM in the coming weeks.

Satish.Kasetty

Writing is one art-form that i am keen to learn and have begun the journey. I can say that I am grasping the nuances fast. I know there is a long way to go, but what is satisfying and motivating is that I can feel the progress in me.

Without a slightest understanding of what I was writing and by plainly expressing what I felt the moment i came out of a theatre after watching a film i realised that i had written a review. That was my first review, and what’s more, people are reading it, assimilating it and responding to it. I realise with every passing day, that when people respond to your thoughts, it’s a great feeling and it makes you want to think more…write more…do more….

So I will keep off loading my thoughts and experiences through my blog…and PFC…Please keep reading, responding correcting and complimenting……If it is Bouquets or Brickbats…..I will take it with a smile and cherish…

Satish.., still a long way to go buddy…..

http://passionforcinema.com/anishs-avakai-biryani/

Dr. Dasari Narayana Rao felicitated us. It was a very emotional and a moment to remember my life long.

Getting an award is an achievement in itself’, but it needs to be recognised. Though the entire industry ignored the achievement, MAA thought it important to recognise.

From the bottom of my heart I thank MAA for the kind gesture.

I would also like to thank PFC for their kind words and compliments.

http://passionforcinema.com/hope-floats/#comment-226613

The dream which started in 2005 has been completed, on 2^nd September when the president of India gave me the National Award for the film “hope’.

That was a great moment of my life. It is a great feeling to achieve what I wanted to achieve.

The case is closed.

Now I am on to my next dream. A dream to make a commercially successful film, A film with lots of romance, emotions and drama.

I am on the job, will let you the details of who is producing, the cast, and the music. Right now I am busy writing the script, it is in the final stages… which movie… (Check the post dated 24th June – National Award)… Yes, it is the musical one.

One more dream, one more journey, one more frontier to conquer…. As I always say… I will…I will

A local channel was butchering a loves labour called “Hope”. Yes I am talking about my film “Hope”. They were mercilessly destroying a National award winning film, just because they have a slot of one hour for a film. A film of 105 minutes length was chopped off to 50 minutes.

This slot might work with other commercial films. Because, even if they take off six songs, i.e. 18 minutes, 6 fights another 20 minutes gone. Minus some scene s taken off, still it will not affect the flow of the movie.

>At the time of making the film some one said make it 100 minutes movie. I could not cut five minutes of my film to make it 100 minutes. Here they chopped off 55 minutes of the film mercilessly…

This film was being shown for the first time, after it won a National Award.. I thought if the whole movie was shown, people could have seen it, after all it was not a commercial venture… we wanted people to see this movie and react.. I felt the purpose was lost.

At the end, Rafael Nadal won.. Srilanka won… Hope was butchered. I went off to bed thinking, there is still hope for “Hope”