How enjoyable was the filming experience?
It was a lot of fun. Because I didn’t know how to do a superhero film. I was figuring it out. Because it is the first time I am doing it. So, there was a lot of trial and error. There were some sequences that are like comedy sequences, particularly. I wonder how much people are enjoying it in the theatres. We were laughing out loud in real life when we were shooting the sequences. And it was a little challenging, for sure. But we enjoyed every little bit of it.
How mindful were you when directing a film centered around a mythological character, considering the potential for sentiments to be affected if any aspects went awry?
If there is anyone whose sentiments will be hurt by this film, it will be me first. So, I am most attached to Hanuman ji in representing all this history of us. Because I have grown up studying him right from my childhood. So, we learned about him in our school. And then there are the films that we have been growing up watching. In Telugu cinema, there are many films that are based on the Ramayana. Not just one film; there are many, many films. It is worth watching them. It is almost like how Bollywood can shoot this high-budget romance and drama with dance and all that. We grew up watching these devotional films. But we were always double-checking every minute detail with the scholars here. There are some really legendary people who have immense knowledge about all of the mytho stories. So, I used to go and sit with them. And they used to write our lyrics as well. Because there are a lot of songs in the film. All these Sanskrit songs were written by scholars. So, we used to double-check if they were doing anything wrong.
How would you describe Teja Sajja’s evolution as an actor and his journey throughout the film?
He has done more than 50 films as a child actor. He is a very senior actor (smiled). Though he looks very young, he has done more than 50 films as a child actor. So, it is a piece of cake for him. He really put in a lot of effort. It was all the physical effort that he had to go through. But all the emotional scenes, he just did it in a single take.
Was there a specific scene that posed significant challenges during filming?
More than anyone, I think it was Teja, for whom it was really difficult to shoot the underwater sequence. Because it is difficult to stay inside water for so long. At the same time, you also have to act underwater. So, it was very difficult for him, for sure. And also, we crossed into some forests and some places that are very difficult to reach. And those are the sequences that were a little difficult for both the actors and the crew to shoot. There is this attack scene in the film. that was shot in this Madhya Pradesh forest. So, that was very difficult to shoot. People were wearing masks and then they had to run in between these trees. It was very difficult.
Given that you were filming a subject inherently powerful, did you sense a palpable energy on set? Were there any instances or incidents that felt truly magical during the filming process?
Definitely. I think almost every day there is some problem that needs to arise and It used to be magically solved. So, imagine there was a time when Teja almost got bit by a snake. The snake was right next to his face. But nothing happened; the snake was there for a couple of moments. And silently, it just went out. So, there was another time when we were shooting on a bullock cart. On a very narrow mountain-edge road. So, the bullock cart almost went into the valley. And Teja was the main lead, and everybody was there on the cart. But again, miraculously, nothing happened. There were many instances like this. Teja was injured a lot. We always used to miss a big accident. So, definitely, we used to feel that some higher power was supporting us and directing us to make this film. Instead of everyone putting my name as a director, everyone should put Hanumanji’s name as a director.
Go On…
Interestingly, when the teaser was released, people were raving about it. This one person told me, “Don’t be so full of yourself. Because it is not you who is making this film; it is Hanumanji who is making this film.” But at that time, I didn’t realize it. I thought it was my effort. But later, the kind of reception that we were getting was definitely more than what I was working hard for. So, let’s say I put in 100 percent. The result I expect is 110 percent, right? But the result is like 1000 percent or 2000 percent. So, even if you look at the result today, we never expected the film to make such big numbers. We thought we would make a very good film. And we hope the audience likes the story. And all the effort that we put in. So we can just make up the money that we’ve invested. We can make another film with it. That’s all we thought. The intention was to not make a lot of money making a film called Hanuman. The intention was to tell the story and everything else will follow. The idea was to create a universe of superhero films where I could bring a lot of other characters. First we did Hanuman, the second film we’ve already announced sometime back is called Adhira. It will have Lord Indra’s presence. Then we have a third superhero film with a female-centric story. So, then we are bringing a very important, the strongest female character, So, that will be directed by another woman. So, the idea is to bring a lot of stories to the current generation audience, kids particularly, so that they will be more interested in our religion and they will want to learn more about our gods.
