Niharika Konidela's National Film Award for the 2024 Telugu drama Committee Kurrollu isn't just a personal achievement but also marks a special moment for her family.
Konidela's father, producer Nagendra Rao, won the National Film Award for the Chiranjeevi drama Rudraveena in 1988. "Now 38 years later, I'm getting it," she tells THR India in an interview. "The first and foremost reaction to this award was from my father, who pointed out how this was such a fulfilling full circle moment."
The actor-turned-producer, who won the Best Telugu Feature Film honour at the 72nd National Film Awards at a grand ceremony held on Tuesday (September 22), recalls to us the arduous process of making a film with a team of first-timers.
The film, which tells the story of eleven childhood friends navigating life in a Godhavari village, was directed by debutant filmmaker Yadhu Vamsi and featured 16 new actors.
Konidela calls herself a newcomer to the process, as this marks her debut feature production. "Imagine you ask for directions to reach a destination and everyone around goes, “This is the right way, go straight, go straight.” If they say that, there's some sort of confidence that gets into you, right? But here, everyone told us we were going in the wrong direction!" she adds with a laugh.
"Why would you work with so many debutants? Why would you go with a new music director? Why would you put this much money into something like this? Why would you shoot for so many days?” she recalls all the questions posed to her.
But Konidela and her team made sure they never let all the noise get to them. "I borrowed the director's vision and trusted in the process."
She is hopeful that the recognition instils trust in newer talent from Telugu cinema to make smaller heartland dramas. But she assures that she's always looking to strike a balance between passion and viability when it comes to backing a project.
"I really value time, and I feel like time is money in this industry. I don't even like it when other people make these false promises and have actors or writers just sign straight three-film deals to lock them in. It's not fair! So what I do is I check the viability. Honestly, even if it is a really good film for me as a producer... but I don't have the bandwidth to take on a film like that, I'll pass on it.
Konidela, who considers her uncle and Telugu film superstar Chiranjeevi her inspiration in the industry, relays his reaction. "I don't know how to explain this. When I just stood in front of him, I saw something in his eyes that I haven't seen ever since I can remember," she says.
"He laid the ground for all of us. And for him to tell me, "You made us proud today," half of my mind was like, 'Should I just, like, stop?' Like, this is my pinnacle... maybe I should just quit. Of course that was just very momentary, and the kid in me was feeling this... I'm going to keep going on."