Rupak Ronaldson’s Pareshan, a quirky, coming-of-age comedy set in Mancherial, Telangana about a group of buddies, has created polarising opinions all across the board. While receiving positive reviews from sections of the audience and critics, other sections were vehement in their stance that Pareshan, with its portrayal of alcoholism, is responsible for displaying a reductive version of Telangana culture. While sounding equal parts hurt and confused, Rupak finds the criticisms unfair. “I really do not know where this is coming from. I am not sure whether they really do not understand Telangana culture or maybe they cannot digest the growth of regional cinema,” remarks Rupak.
Echoing the importance of cultural awareness and empathy while consuming films, Rupak continues, “Every region has its own cultural norms and festival. Bhogi is a big event in Andhra. There was a film of Vetri Maaran (Aadukulam) that depicted the cultural practice of Rooster fights. Now I can imagine it angering certain animal rights activists, just as I can understand certain conservative people finding the depiction of alcoholism as detrimental to a society’s well-being. But people in different regions behave differently. Cultural standards must not be the same across the board. Now, I have not even glorified alcoholism. Nor have I displayed any kind of vulgarity. If you watch the film, you would know that whenever the characters got wasted, something wrong happened. Pareshan has also shown how alcohol can mess up a person’s life.”
On a more positive note, Rupak remarks, “Our film did get some great reception from Andhra. A few boys from Andhra met me and remarked that they found the depiction of rural life in Pareshan to be relatable. We also got some good talk from the audience who have watched our shows in Vijayawada.” For all the criticisms against Telangana culture, when asked about how the film was actually produced by a banner named ‘Waltair’ Productions. Rupak replies, chuckling, “Yeah, our hyper-local film on Telangana culture was actually produced by a Vizag-based company. Differences exist in society, not in art.” Commenting about his association, Rana Daggubati’s Spirit Media, who distributed the film, Rupak notes, “I would just like to repeat what Rana tells me — that it is the film that chooses the people it wants to work with, not the other way round.”
While it is not lost on Rupak that his film appears in a long line of Telangana-centric films this year, including Dasara, Balagam and Mem Famous, he mentions that he had this idea with him before all these films were even made. “I was the writer for a short film called 6 Pegs, which came out even before Sainma,” says Rupak, referring to a short film by Tharun Bhascker that was one of the earliest films to put the Telangana dialect on the map in recent history. Unlike most films set in rural Telangana, which were actually filmed in the outskirts of Hyderabad, Rupak shot his film in his hometown of Mancherial, the location where Pareshan is also set in. “Shooting in real locations in my hometown did not just amp up the authenticity factor, but it also made securing permissions for locations a whole lot easier. The locals went out of their way to make sure we had a comfortable time shooting.”
Rupak also reveals that with the exception of the film’s leads Thiruveer and Pavani Karanam, Bunny Abhiran (who played the role of Pasha), and the actors who played Thiruveer’s parents — every single person appearing in the film are not professional actors. “So many of the actors you see in the film were just residents of Mancherial. It was a challenge, for sure, to work with people who had no background in acting. They don’t understand concepts like blocking. It was even harder for their professional counterparts, who had to do multiple takes to get their shots right. After the film wrapped, we called every single person, including the guy who said something as simple and short as ‘nuvvu itu ra’ to come to Hyderabad and dub for their lines. I could not even get sync sound done for the film, because I was giving cues to many people in front of the frame, while the camera was rolling.” says Rupak, laughing.
Speaking more about the film’s story, Rupak remarks, “It was a conscious effort to make the film realistic and not take cinematic liberties. Despite having a pretty linear plot in my mind — of a son who loses the money his father gives and what he does along the way to acquire and return said money — I wanted to shift my focus towards writing characters, which is why the script takes detours, coming off like a film without a plot. Today, people are remembering characters of the film by their names, and that is a source of great joy for me.”
Despite directing a film earlier (Kobbari Matta), Rupak maintains that Pareshan is his debut film. “I worked very hard to establish and translate my creativity, my aesthetics, my vision and consciousness to the screen. That was not the case for my first film. I tried to be as real as I possibly could with Pareshan, and I am glad things have paid off.” signs off Rupak.
