Anil Ravipudi is on cloud nine over his latest outing ‘Sankranthiki Vasthunam’ featuring Venkatesh becoming a massive box office success. The Tollywood director interacted with the media to talk about completing a decade in the industry.
The director shared his thoughts about cracking the success formula and how he manages to connect with his audience. Reminiscing the journey, Anil said, “It has been quite a remarkable period with the support of the audience. Every movie was an experience for me. The super success of ‘Sankranthiki Vasthunam’ is a case study for me and I express my heartfelt gratitude to the audience.”
On his approach to filmmaking, Anil believes that his strength lies in his ability to make people laugh and entertain them. “Entertainment is like a weapon given to me by the audience, and I use it as a lifeline,” he adds.
The Tolly filmmaker’s journey in the film industry spans over 10 years, with 8 films under his belt, all of which have been hits. He attributes his success to his ability to connect with his audience and his willingness to take risks. “I have taken risks with new genres and the audience has been kind to me,” he says.
Bouquets and brickbats are part and parcel of the game, but Anil has his own way of dealing with criticism. He believes in taking feedback from his audience rather than critics. “When we talk about the movie’s success it’s the footfalls, collections we have to talk about. That 1% of critics will always be there, but that doesn’t mean I feel pressured to leave my path and try something else. I think it’s better to take feedback from the audience rather than critics. The audience is the ultimate judge of a film’s success,” he adds.
On his experience working with different heroes, Anil says that each hero has their unique strengths and weaknesses. And commenting on actors with great comic timing, he says, “I have worked with Ravi Teja, Mahesh, and Venkatesh, and each of them has their own style and approach to comedy.”
Anil’s writing process involves taking inspiration from real-life characters and situations. “I like to have relatable characters in my films. I take inspiration from people around me, from news, and from my personal life,” he says, adding that he is open to inputs from actors and ADs to improve the script.
The ‘Sankranthiki Vasthunnam’ maker is happy to have directed actors, whose movies he had enjoyed watching on the big screen. Talking about going pan India, Anil says he’s content being a regional director for now, but is open to expanding base when the time is right. “My dream was to wield a megaphone and ‘Pataas’ made that a reality. Whatever followed has been a bonus. The audience has given me so much that I am determined to continue giving them entertainment worth every penny they spend.”
Sharing his excitement about his upcoming project with none other than Chiranjeevi, “It’s too early to talk about it but will definitely portray the megastar in a never before seen avatar,” he says, revealing that his goal is to make movies with all the four pillars of Telugu cinema— Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, and Balakrishna.
