There is nothing at present that Sai Rajesh, who dons different hats, could really complain about given his National Award wins and the success of his recent film Chennai Love Story. His film Colour Photo won the National Film Award as a producer, and he later won the Best Screenplay award for Baby, which he also directed. Baby became a cult classic and won audience applause as it entered the Rs 100 crore club. The film is now being remade in Hindi. Sai Rajesh is also one of the producers of the recently successful film Chennai Love Story, starring Kiran Abbavaram and Sri Gouri Priya. SKN is the other producer. The film recently entered the Rs 50 crore club.
Kiran Abbavaram played Steven Shankar in Chennai Love Story. It is a name that is so close to Sai Rajesh. “I used that as my name in films Hrudaya Kaleyam and Kobbari Matta, because I like filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Shankar Shanmugham. From Colour Photo, I decided to keep my original name, Sai Rajesh,” says Sai Rajesh, as he further recalls that he needed to have a popular name for the sake of publicity. “When I entered the industry, I needed a unique name for publicity as a director, so I named myself Steven Shankar at that time,” he shares.
Sai Rajesh, a director himself, says Ravi did not require any supervision, and he did not interfere in the making process even once. “Once I saw certain scenes during the shoot, I realised Ravi didn't require my inputs. I felt my contribution was only needed during music composition. After watching the interval sequence, I genuinely felt he had made the film even better than I would have,” says Rajesh, as he goes on to add that they were highly confident about the output. He also says a producer needs patience before enjoying the fruits of a film, “It takes time for producers to receive their actual theatrical returns, but on paper, we are currently in a positive position.”
Explaining the philosophy behind making a film like Chennai Love Story, Sai Rajesh says only pain can produce emotional love stories. “I am delighted that audiences have embraced a story filled with moments containing shock. Some scenes in the film are my tribute to Mouna Ragam. Stories like these come from real life because emotional love stories can only be written after experiencing pain in life,” he says. He remarks that all of his films have some connection to his personal life to a varying degree. “I have gone through pain too, though my own love story had a happy ending. Except for the final 30 minutes, Colour Photo was almost scene-to-scene based on my intermediate college life. I still have another love story that I dream of making. Once I complete that, I'll explore other genres."
Although Chennai Love Story faced a barrage of negative criticisms, the overwhelming positive response from audiences has put Sai Rajesh in a happy place now. He is now busy with the Baby Hindi remake, and is also more than open to providing stories for other directors. “There's indeed been a gap in my directorial career, but that's because I've been busy with the Hindi remake of Baby. At present, I'm happy and satisfied as a writer and producer. If I find a director who can do justice to my stories, I'm more than happy to give them the opportunity. That benefits me as a producer while ensuring the audience gets a good film,” he quips. Sai also reveals that he wanted to cast late filmmaker K Bhagyaraj in Chennai Love Story, in a cameo of his fictionalised self. But that couldn't happen with another veteran, P Vasu, joining the film. “We had initially approached veteran filmmaker Bhagyaraj for one of the roles. I even spoke to him personally, but due to date issues, he couldn't do it. With him no more, I still wish we had worked together,” he shares.
Sai Rajesh goes on to say that Baby was his litmus test as a director, and if that did not receive love, there was no Chennai Love Story. “If that film failed, Chennai Love Story would not exist today. Baby is emotionally very special to all of us,” he shares, adding that the Hindi remake has around 20 days of shooting left and goes into the changes he made for the remake. “We plan to complete filming by the end of September. While the Telugu version had softer characterisations, the Hindi version features more aggressive characters. As a writer, you must absorb emotional pain. As a director, you have to work even harder,” he says.
Stepping out of the creative conversations, he gets candid about responsibilities in the film industry and his ties with different organisations. He shares that he is working towards smooth coordination between these associations. “I previously served as Vice President of the Directors' Association and currently serve as its Treasurer. I was also recently elected unanimously as the Vice President of the Film Federation. I consider these positions a responsibility, and we're working towards securing agreements with producers regarding minimum wages for film workers. As the Federation's Vice President, I will always work in the best interests of the workers,” he adds, as he concludes by naming writers who have inspired him. “I deeply admire writers like Mullapudi Venkata Ramana and Yandamuri Veerendranath, and the grey-shaded characters in K Balachander's films have always fascinated me,” he signs off.