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India Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Meet Sekhar Kammula, Telugu director who became a star without chasing stars
When a film works, the credit goes to everyone, but when it fails, the blame falls squarely on the director. That's how pivotal a filmmaker is to the fate of a movie. Now imagine a director operating in an industry driven by larger-than-life cinema, where success is measured by the number of star collaborations and box office, and experiments are few and far between. In the midst of all this, one man chooses to walk his own path quietly, Sekhar Kammula, the director of the Sai Pallavi-starrer 'Fidaa', who is now returning with 'Kuberaa', featuring Dhanush and Nagarjuna. As he completes 25 years in Telugu cinema, it's worth asking: What makes Sekhar Kammula special? And how did he become a star director without chasing stars?DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO TELL?In a recent interview with Galatta Plus, Aamir Khan said something that perfectly echoes Sekhar Kammula's approach. 'One of the qualities I look for in a director is, do you have a story to tell? Is there a story inside you that's bubbling to come out? Because when someone has a story they're dying to tell, the intensity and energy with which they tell it is completely different from someone who's telling a story just because they were asked to.' When you look at Kammula's body of work, you see exactly that. His stories feel personal, heartfelt, and Take 'Anand' (2004), where Roopa walks away from her own wedding because her individuality isn't respected. Or 'Godavari' (2006), where Sita, a strong-headed designer, chooses to travel alone to process her failures. These stories aren't constructed for effect; they are born out of a genuine urge to say something honest. Even 'Leader' (2010), his political drama, is driven less by plot twists and more by deep moral questioning - what happens when an idealist chooses to step into a corrupt system?Even 'Happy Days' (2007), a campus drama, stood out not for inventing a new genre but for how refreshingly honest and relatable it was. It was the first time college life, with all its chaos, friendships, heartbreaks and life lessons that was shown with such warmth and realism. In fact, the film's popularity influenced many students to pursue engineering, and that tells you something about the cultural imprint of his work. Kammula's storytelling is never performative. It stems from a place of deep conviction that a good story told with honesty can create magic, even without cinematic is the kingIn Sekhar Kammula's universe, the story is always the hero. His casting choices consistently favour suitability over stardom. From 'Dollar Dreams' to 'Fidaa', his leads have rarely been stars when cast. Even 'Love Story', which featured Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi, made a conscious effort not to tailor the film around their popularity. Instead, the focus was on two individuals navigating love and trauma in a socially stratified closely at his filmography, and the pattern becomes clear. 'Dollar Dreams' won the National Award for Best Debut Film and featured no recognisable faces. 'Anand' made Raja and Kamalinee Mukherjee overnight sensations, but only after the film succeeded. The actors are chosen for the world they belong to, not to draw when he introduced someone like Rana Daggubati in 'Leader', it wasn't to launch a star with a mass vehicle. The film is a layered political drama where the protagonist spends more time confronting systemic corruption than delivering punchy dialogue. Similarly, 'Fidaa's' Varun is no swashbuckling hero. He spends most of the film losing love until he learns to understand it. This approach is significant because the pressure to bend the script to suit heroes, adding elevation scenes, redundant fights, and mass moments is intense in Telugu cinema. But Kammula has resisted that temptation at every is why 'Kuberaa' is such a point of curiosity. It's the first time he's directed bonafide stars like Dhanush and Nagarjuna. But early glimpses suggest that the story remains intact. It looks like the stars are in service of the narrative, not the other way around. If anything, this might be the clearest example of Kammula's confidence in his material, that he can have a star-studded cast and still keep the story as the in ideas and presentationKammula's stories often feel like gentle revolutions. They aren't loud, but they disrupt norms all the same. He entered the industry in the early 2000s, a time when Telugu cinema was largely dominated by action entertainers and formula films. Yet, he chose to talk about self-respecting women, emotionally vulnerable men, and the quiet dignity of everyday female characters are consistently nuanced and central to the narrative. 'Anand's' Roopa is strong and self-reliant, unafraid to walk out of a life she doesn't agree with. 'Godavari's' Sita is independent and career-minded, not just a romantic interest. 'Fidaa's' Bhanumathi challenges the stereotype of the demure village girl by being outspoken and proud of her roots. These women are never accessories; they shape the Kammula has even reflected on this himself. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, he said: 'Very subtly I made these films, which might be female-centric films or that kind of that, but I slowly realised that I am telling the story of the oppressed or marginalised.' This explains the emotional authenticity that runs through his his male leads are no less important. In fact, one of Sekhar Kammula's most understated strengths is how he writes male characters who aren't shackled by toxic masculinity. Anand, Ram, Varun - they are sensitive, respectful, emotionally intelligent men who give space to the women in their lives. Varun giving up his American dream in 'Fidaa' isn't a plot twist, it's the culmination of emotional growth. Ram in 'Godavari' letting Chinna win the treasure hunt is another example of quiet there's his world-building. 'Godavari' unfolds on a boat ride to Bhadrachalam - an unusual, almost whimsical choice that enriches the narrative. 'Happy Days' captures the college experience with such detail that it feels like you're living it again. Every character, from Pullamma to Chinna in 'Godavari', or even side characters like Shankar in 'Happy Days', adds flavour to the aren't just aesthetic choices. They create texture, a sense of lived-in reality that makes Kammula's cinema feel immersive and immediate.A stubborn filmmakerAt the 'Kuberaa' pre-release event, director SS Rajamouli described Kammula as "stubborn". He meant it as a compliment and rightly so. In an industry that often demands compromise, Sekhar Kammula has stayed fiercely true to his has made only 10 films in 25 years. Not because of lack of opportunity, but because he believes in waiting for the right story. In his own words, he needs a story to compel him. He doesn't chase release dates, stars, or trends. He waits until he has something worth this measured pace, he's not some niche art-house filmmaker. 'Anand', 'Godavari', 'Happy Days', 'Fidaa' - these were all commercial hits. 'Happy Days' became a cultural moment, 'Fidaa' brought Telangana dialect into mainstream romance, and 'Leader' sparked real-world debates about youth in politics. And he hasn't allowed industry politics or peer pressure to change him. Kammula still lives in a modest colony. He credits his lifestyle for keeping him grounded. He says it allows him to stay close to the emotions and realities of his audience. In a world obsessed with optics and fame, this is a quiet but radical stance. His stubbornness isn't defiance. It's clarity. It's knowing exactly why he makes films and what he wants them to say. In a cinematic landscape driven by formula and fandom, Sekhar Kammula offers something rare: consistency without compromise. He has built a career not on loud successes but on quiet truths. With 'Kuberaa', he may finally be playing with stars, but the core remains unchanged. The story comes first. And perhaps that is his greatest strength, to remind us that even in the noisiest of industries, the softest voice can still be heard, if it speaks with honesty.
India Today
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Retro director explains why Netflix rejected limited series pitch for Suriya-starrer
After the release of 'Retro', directed by Karthik Subbaraj and starring Suriya, fans and critics were divided in their response. While the film generated strong pre-release hype and opened to a lukewarm response, its box office performance fell short of expectations. Now, Karthik Subbaraj is hoping to give the story a second life, this time, as a limited a recent interview with Galatta Plus, Karthik revealed that much of the story had to be cut short due to the film's two-and-a-half-hour runtime, limiting both character development and emotional engagement. 'The main hindrance was the runtime,' he explained, noting that it stopped the audience from truly connecting with the characters' shared that the host of the interview had seen a 37-minute sequence, which had to be cut down to just 10 to 15 minutes in the final film. This portion included training montages, flashbacks involving the romantic lead, and key emotional moments, such as the backstory behind the 'Daddy Daddy' song. 'That section had emotionally driven reasons for not fighting back, conveyed through those flashbacks,' he said. He admitted that the problem started right at the writing stage. 'Once you start writing, you get indulged in the character, and when you read it, there are techniques in books, like one page equals one minute, but it doesn't always work,' Karthik said. Despite getting help from his direction team and editors, the final output often turned out longer than planned. 'It will be correct,' was the typical response he received when asked to cut scenes, but the final edit still ended up exceeding the desired runtime. advertisementGiving an example, he said, 'Retro has a mirror scene in which he goes and tries to smile for the first time. That was just one line in that thing (script), but when he performed it, it was a single shot - like nearly 1 minute and 20 seconds.' In the film, this moment was trimmed through Subbaraj is now hoping to expand the story into a limited series on Netflix to explore these layers more deeply. However, Netflix has rejected the proposal. He added that the OTT platform is not willing to do it, but he is trying harder from his side to release 'Retro' as a web series.'Retro' tells the story of Paari, the adopted son of a crime lord who's been raised to be a violent enforcer. But when Paari falls in love with Rukmini, he attempts to leave the world of crime behind, creating tension with his father and triggering its pacing issues, 'Retro' was appreciated for its visual storytelling, performances, and ambition. The film stars Suriya in the lead role, with a powerful ensemble including Pooja Hegde, Joju George, Jayaram, Nassar, and Prakash the work front, Suriya is currently filming his next movie, tentatively titled 'Suriya 45', directed by RJ Balaji, and set to co-star Trisha Krishnan. He has also begun work on 'Suriya 46', with 'Lucky Bhaskar' director Venky Atluri at the Reel
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First Post
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- First Post
Karan Johar on Netflix's 'Nadaaniyan' with Ibrahim Ali Khan & Khushi Kapoor being bashed online: 'I was feeling terrible for...'
The filmmaker added, 'Apparently, they are not meant to have emotions, because they come from privilege. So hate on them.' read more Netflix's 'Nadaaniyan' with Ibrahim Ali Khan & Khushi Kapoor is one of the most trolled films of 2025 so far. And producer Karan Johar in an interview with Galatta Plus, had something to say on the hate that came his way. Johar was quoted saying, 'More than anything else, I was feeling terrible for…and I know that I'm apparently not supposed to say this also. Because I am not supposed to show sympathy to Ibrahim or Khushi or Shauna. Because they were all first timers.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The filmmaker added, 'Apparently, they are not meant to have emotions, because they come from privilege. So hate on them. They're not meant to feel bad at all because they come from entitlement. They come from privilege.' Karan Johar said, 'I remember we reached out to certain YouTubers like 'Calm down. Can we just forget Nadaaniyan?' They were like 'But every time we write about it, we get so many views.' The moment we stop writing about it, we are losing our followers. We want more followers. So even hating on Nadaaniyan became fashionable. The more you hate on it, the more videos you put out, the more engagement you will get. People are loving nepo kid bashing and I am like 'move on.'' When the film released, Ibrahim literally sent assault threats to a Pakistani journalist, and recently spoke about his actions in an interview. In an interview with Filmfare, Ibrahim Ali Khan said, 'I know I shouldn't have reacted but I'm also new to public scrutiny.' The actor added, 'When he made that personal comment about my body, it felt like a below-the-belt remark. But going forward, I'll be more composed. I shouldn't have reacted. It won't happen again.' The actor wrote to the journalist, 'Tamur almost like Taimoor… you got my brother's name. Guess what you don't got? His face. You ugly piece of trash. Since you can't keep your words to yourself, don't bother, they're irrelevant just like you.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Pink Villa
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Suriya's Retro to be a limited series of 4-5 episodes on OTT after 3 months? Karthik Subbaraj spills beans
Retro, starring Suriya in the lead role, hit the big screens on May 1, 2025, and later began streaming on Netflix. Now, it seems that director Karthik Subbaraj wants to release the film as a limited series with additional footage. In his conversation on Galatta Plus, the filmmaker expressed his desire to release the story as a limited series and mentioned having discussions with the OTT giant. However, the streaming platform is not so keen on the same. As per his words, 'I talked to them (OTT platform) about giving extended scenes for the movie. It wouldn't be just deleted scenes and all, but with deeper emotions and detailed action sequences in 3 months after OTT release. However, they aren't agreeing to it because they have their own series and all.' The director continued, 'I want to showcase some things to the audience that I felt were exciting while making the film. If seen from an episodic perspective, there would be 4-5 episodes, each close to 40 minutes in duration. It would've had more detailing for the spiritual, cult, and laughter angle.' The movie Retro features the tale of Paari, the adopted son of a crime lord who is treated as a violent machine by his foster father. In hopes of leaving the violent world behind, as per his love, Rukmini's words, the man develops a rift with his father, which leads to further chaos. With Paari's life in shambles and hopes to reunite with his love, he realizes his destiny is far beyond all this, with a whole village hoping for his return. As Suriya plays the leading role, the film has an ensemble cast of actors like Pooja Hegde, Joju George, Jayaram, Nassar, Prakash Raj, and many more in key roles. The film was received with generally positive reviews with few criticisms. Coming to Suriya 's work front, the actor is next set to appear in the tentatively titled Suriya 45, alongside Trisha Krishnan. The film helmed by RJ Balaji is touted to be a commercial entertainer. Moreover, the actor has also begun work on his movie, tentatively titled Suriya 46 with Lucky Bhaskar director Venky Atluri.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Retro': Karthik Subbaraj plans to release Suriya-starrer as a limited series
Ace filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj on Monday (June 16) revealed that he is planning on releasing a limited series version of his recent release, Retro, starring Suriya. This comes just weeks after the film, which hit theatres to mixed responses on May 1, began streaming on Netflix on May 31. In an interview with film critic Baradwaj Rangan of Galatta Plus, Karthik spoke about how he isn't a writer who pens a screenplay keeping the stipulated two-and-a-half-hour runtime as a yardstick, and revealed that he had a lot of footage from Retro that didn't make it to the final cut. 'We tried this one-page-equals-one-minute technique when we write our scripts, but it never worked out. We even give our draft to our editors to get their opinion on what could be removed from the script. But what inadvertently happens is that when we begin to shoot a scene, it ends up becoming longer on screen; for instance, a dialogue that looks small on paper might take up quite some time when performed,' he said, adding that he had to cut down significantly to fit to the runtime stipulated for a theatre release. 'But OTT has become big, and it allows you to have a longer format.' Karthik added that he tried something for his previous release, the widely acclaimed Jigarthanda Double X. 'I tried talking to the streaming service to see if we could release a limited series version of the film on streaming. I told them, 'See, anyway the film is releasing in theatres, and you are buying it and releasing it on OTT. So let it run there for three to four months, and after that, I will give you a limited series version.' By that, I don't just mean a version with more deleted scenes, but it's a version where the emotions will be deeper and the action more detailed. But they didn't agree for that.' For Retro, the director added, he wished to try it since the film had many exciting portions that didn't make the final cut. 'There are four to five episodes of 45 minutes each. This version will have more details and explanations about the many themes we have touched on in the film. So I want to somehow bring all that to the audience. I am not sure how, but I am trying.' Karthik even went on to take the example of how Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight has a limited series version exclusively streaming in the US. 'That version is actually on Netflix, and so whenever I meet them (Netflix), I tell them, 'hey, you are giving that option in the US, why can't you do it here?.'' Karthik added that if this is the idea of a limited series version for a film finds takers, 'there won't be a restriction for the filmmakers. Even if they something more, they will find an avenue to showcase it.' Starring Pooja Hegde as the female lead, Retro also features Joju George, Nassar, Jayaram, Karunakaran, and Prakash Raj, with a cameo by Shriya Saran. Produced by Stone Bench Films and 2D Entertainment, the film has music scored by Santhosh Narayanan.
