Exclusive | Anil Ravipudi Talks Budgets, Using Ilaiyaraaja’s ‘Sundari’ and His Next Project: 'Going to Work On A Family Entertainer'

In the hit Telugu film Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, Chiranjeevi delivers everything that fans expect him to — the laughs, the swagger, the slow-motion fights, and a sweeping romance. But beneath it all, new-gen director Anil Ravipudi manages to subtly contour and reinvent the actor's flair for comedy and drama through the lens of a troubled marriage. On the sidelines of its streaming release on ZEE5, the filmmaker speaks to THR India about being conscious of budgets, casting Nayanthara, reacting to criticisms, and the nervous excitement of delivering back-to-back hits.

Excerpts from the conversation:

What was it like working with Chiranjeevi? Is he a spontaneous actor?

Behind the scenes, it is always fun. It is like a festival for all of us to watch two actors like Chiru garu and Venky garu. They were very good friends and shared everything with each other. Their bonding made everything so real on screen.

Your track record is amazing. Your films have consistently delivered double or triple the revenue against the budget, even with big films. Are you conscious of budgets?

I am very conscious about the budget even before going into filming. I take utmost care about the remuneration and the budget spent on making. We follow up with the executive production team about what the next day's budget is looking like. We have a group to follow up on this. I'm not a producer, but I work like it's my production, and it's my money. Only then can we make conscious efforts to cut short the budget. It's not that if you go in with passion, you spend so much money, which will affect the schedule and budgets. 

Your comedies, including Sankranthiki and MSG, have been led by soft and positive men. Can you tell us about that?

Maybe that's a reflection of who I am (laughs). I am a soft person and don't prefer to fight with my wife. I compromise or just shut my mouth and go out of the house. That's always peaceful. When women have an attitude, they look beautiful. So I always prefer to write stories like this. Audiences were able to connect a lot to the marital conflicts in the film, and Chiru garu and Nayanthara's experience added to this film.

Tell us about Nayanthara's casting.

We were initially thinking of other female actors for this role. In the story, there are so many scenes where she faces off against Chiru garu. Chiranjeevi garu has a mass image, so having a new actress might not give that effect. Nayanthara garu, off and on-screen, has this image that she's a bold woman. When I narrated the story to her, she understood it and her character's value very well. 

We love how you use Ilaiyaraaja's 'Sundari' so well in the film, and it's so smart because instead of going into a very heavy flashback, the songs do all the talking.

While writing a love story about a senior actor, you don't take it for granted. If you do, it might backfire. That's why I took so much care to present their love story in a decent, poetic way. I am a big fan of Ilaiyaraaja garu. His music heals and inspires me. Whenever I've been creatively stuck, I listen to his music, and it's magic. In that way, I wanted to play around with the 'Sundari' song without a single dialogue. 

You also spoke about getting his permission...

There's a proper way and channel to approach him. If you ask him permission to use his song, he'll definitely say yes. That's how he said yes to us. We gave respect to him, and he permitted us. It is his product at the end of the day, so consent and respect are important. 

You analyse every film to make sure you go into your next film prepared. Can you speak to us about how you analysed 'MSG'?

I make sure that whatever script I am working on isn't similar to my previous films. When I start work on my next film, I will make sure that Sankranthiki and MSG don't reflect in this script. I look at my films as a new product. It's already half a success when you're trying to do something new, especially compared to your previous films. I am going to work on a family entertainer, and the work is going to start very soon.

Is that a lot of pressure, given back-to-back hits in the genre?

Comedy is always tough to write. When you're writing back-to-back entertainers, it's even tougher. That's why, after two or three films, I did Bhagavanth Kesari. It was a complete social drama. I took a break and did this. After that, I came back to my original strength where I play my game. Now the responsibility stands heavy because there is a little fear inside, while thinking about the film's space and genre. At the end of the day, we work hard and see if we can break the records of our own film with our own work. We did it last time, so we can do it next time. This confidence gives us a path.

While the film was a light take on marriage, there were also criticisms about how the women were portrayed, and it had a lot of jokes about divorce. How do you react to these viewpoints?

If the film shows Chiranjeevi garu slapping Nayanthara garu or Nayanthara garu taking a stand for her father, these are incidents that happen between characters. Every marriage or divorce has personal confrontations. So you can't be judgemental and say something is right or wrong. When you're writing heated moments between characters, few people might connect to that, and few people might question it. These analytical discussions always follow. But at the end of the day, success speaks. If it [criticism] is very organic or serious, I will take care of it in my next film. 

Are you taking a break before writing your next film?

No, there is no break for me (laughs). I want to finalise my cast in the film before I go for a small break. Now I am on the job. In a few days, I can give a complete picture of my next project and with whom I am going to work. 

Will your next film be a family entertainer?

Yeah, 200 per cent I want to do a family entertainer because there is somehow a vacuum in the genre. Let's try one more thing in the genre. I'm still not bored while doing a family entertainer. I am confident that I will deliver another film in this genre with a different characterisation. Hopefully, people will like and celebrate it again for the next Pongal.