This year, several debutant directors entered Tollywood, and Pranava Swaroop is one among them. His latest film, Ugly Story, featuring Shree Nandu and Avika Gor in lead roles, released last Friday and received appreciation from audiences. The psychological drama revolves around a possessive husband and his troubled relationship with his wife, and the director convincingly conveys the emotional conflict.
“I was born and brought up in Kakinada, and my father was a novelist. We owned the Sivaji Theatre in Kakinada, and I used to watch a lot of films there. That’s how I developed an interest in cinema from childhood,” recalls Pranava Swaroop, as he begins discussing his maiden project.
Swaroop's father, Vijay Krishna Patrudu, had ties to cinema through film adaptations of his novels. He stressed the value of education, insisting that Swaroop finish his graduation before pursuing creative interests.
Pranava Swaroop’s cousin Appaji introduced him to producer Bekkem Venugopal in Hyderabad, and he worked closely with him for several years. “I worked as an assistant director for Prema Ishq Kaadhal, produced by Bekkem Venugopal and directed by Pavan Sadineni,” he shares, revealing that though he was always interested in directing films, Bekkem Venugopal did not see that in him. “To make him believe in me as a director, I made two short films, Mallepoovu and Maharshi.”
Interestingly, Ugly Story was originally conceived as a web series. “I first wrote it as a web series and narrated it to Bekkem garu. But he advised me to make it as a feature film because it could be produced on a limited budget. So I reworked it into a film script,” he explains.
The making of Ugly Story was far from easy, and he shares that he was moved by his friend Raj Nag’s act of selling a piece of his land for the film. “Raj Nag has been my friend for the last 20 years and was also my roommate during my animation days. When I narrated the story to him, he loved it so much that he sold a small piece of land he owned in Samarlakota and arranged money for me. He believed that once the film was released, I would start getting opportunities from other production houses,” says an emotional Swaroop, adding that he paid advances to technicians with that money.
Elaborating on the kind of monetary struggles that the film went through, so much so that Nandu had misgivings about the future of the project and needed to be convinced by Bekkem Venugopal to continue in it. “I loved the trailer of Bomma Blockbuster and decided to cast him as the lead. After hearing the story, he liked it but was worried that the project might stop midway due to financial issues. Later, Bekkem Venugopal garu personally assured him that he would support the project, and then Nandu agreed.”
The project has an invisible presence of producer Bekkem Venugopal, who also suggested Avika Gor for the female lead role. “I narrated the story to her over a Zoom call. She asked for a day’s time, but by evening she called back and said she wanted to do the film,” says the director.
The very completion of Ugly Story could be considered the fruit of hard work and perseverance, as the film faced delays not only due to financial issues but also the director’s personal tragedies. “My father passed away in the middle of the shoot, and we had to stop filming for three months. During post-production, my mother also passed away, which caused another delay,” reflects Swaroop as he is on the other side of the tunnel now.
When asked whether Ugly Story had shades of Kannada superstar Upendra’s cult film A, Swaroop admitted his admiration openly. “I am a huge fan of Upendra sir and have watched A many times. I even wanted him to launch the teaser of this film and send him a message. But he probably receives thousands of messages from fans, so I didn’t get a reply. I have also prepared a story for him, and if he gives me an opportunity, I would love to narrate it,” says Swaroop.
The director said the inspiration for Ugly Story came from real-life observations. “I have seen people who appear decent and respectable outside but fail to treat their wives properly at home. I have also seen love marriages where husbands later treated their wives like servants. Ugly Story is based on the pretence of niceness,” he explains.
His next project, too, will focus on toxic relationships and will be based on true incidents. “I have witnessed a few incidents in Kakinada, and I wrote a story inspired by them. That will be my next project,” he says.
After the release of Ugly Story, a few production houses have already approached Pranava Swaroop, and he is expected to announce his next film soon.
Now settled in Hyderabad after his parents’ demise, Swaroop reflected on the fate of his family's theatre. “Our theatre closed long ago because the single-screen business was not doing well. It has now been converted into a commercial complex,” he signs off.