Director Bhaskhar Maurya: ‘Muthayya’ was born out of my fear-OxBig News Network

“I believed that my film would find its audience even if it took time,” says Bhaskhar Maurya, who has written and directed the Telugu indie film Muthayya. The film, which will stream on ETV Win from May 1, narrates the story of a 70-year-old man from rural Telangana with a long-cherished dream of seeing himself as an actor on the large screen. Call it serendipity, but the rather painstaking wait of this film, which began its journey in 2022 to reach its audience resonates with the film’s story and tagline, ‘it is never too late to dream big’.

Muthayya, headlined by Sudhakar Reddy of Balagam fame, was filmed in and around Wanaparthy in Telangana. Produced by Hylife Entertainments and Fictionary Entertainment, the film was shot at a stretch in 15 days, starring several locals in supporting parts.

Soon after its completion in early 2022, Muthayya premiered at the UK Asian Film Festival in London. It won the best feature film in Indian languages at the Kolkata International Film Festival. Bhaskhar bagged the award for best debut director at the Meta Film Fest, Dubai. The makers also won the best feature film jury award at the Indic Film Utsav.

The seed for Muthayya was sown when Bhaskhar, who had chased filmmaking dreams in Hyderabad, returned home to Wanaparthy. “I noticed people making reels and short films using their mobile phones and uploading them on YouTube and social media. They were not trained in filmmaking, but that did not dampen their enthusiasm.”

Bhaskhar learnt about a few natives who nurtured dreams of a career in cinema but never made it, consumed by responsibilities at home. The thought that Bhaskhar could also end up like one of them, burying his directorial dreams, gnawed at him. He channeled that fear into writing a story of realising one’s dreams, age no bar. “Muthayya stemmed from the fear that I might end up growing old, without becoming a director. I wanted to make an entertaining film, not arthouse cinema.”

Bhaskhar wrote the screenplay, since he did not have resources to pay anyone else. Once done with the first draft, he narrated the story to friends and used the feedback to finetune the screenplay. Hailing from a family of teachers, Bhaskhar pursued a diploma course in acting and direction at the Roshan Taneja School of Acting in Hyderabad. “I learnt the basics,” he says, adding, “I could not afford the fee at other larger film schools.”

Armed with the diploma, in 2012-13, he tried to make inroads into Telugu cinema as an assistant director, in vain. Returning to Wanaparthy, he was amused by the emerging short film culture.

Drawing from his knowledge gained at the film school, he began making short films. Bhaskhar also collaborated with his friends who were working on independent films, and spent the next three years learning screenwriting and script development. “I had not paid enough attention to the writing process at the film school. I realised its importance when I ventured out on my own.”

Sudhakar Reddy and Arun Raj in a scene from the film
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

When Bhaskhar approached producers with the script of Muthayya, even those who liked the story wanted to tweak it to make it more commercially viable. Bhaskhar did not want to dilute the essence of the story. “Ultimately I found the right producers — Vamsi Karumanchi, Vrinda Prasad and Hemanth Kumar — who gave me 100% creative freedom.” Cinematographer Divakar Mani, music composer Karthik Rodriguez, editor Sai Murali and sound designer Vamsi Priya Rasineni came on board. Bhaskhar says in gratitude, “One cannot make this kind of authentic cinema without the right people.”

Actors were chosen through auditions. Incidentally, Sudhakar Reddy’s knowledge of Telugu theatre and some of his personality traits came in handy for his character portrayal. “Arun Raj who was cast as his younger friend, Malli, is a native of a village in Mahbubnagar. His body language and dialogue delivery were apt for the character. We chose Mounica, Poorna and others through auditions. We wanted people who would be in sync with the film’s setting.”

Bhaskhar spent several days rehearsing with the actors and discussing the technical aspects with the crew. “Divakar Mani is among the best cinematographers and was a boon to our film. We decided to shoot in Wanaparthy and nearby villages since it was familiar terrain for me.”

After a location recce, the team began filming Muthayya during early monsoon in 2021. “We had overcast weather conditions throughout, but it did not pour. Thanks to the rehearsals and good coordination in the crew, we completed filming in 15 days, as against the 25 days we had planned,” says Bhaskar. With the sound engineer, he also ensured that the film reflects the authenticity of the region, with ambient sounds.

The real test began once the film was completed. Digital platforms that were until then open to smaller films, began changing their pattern of acquisition. The film’s release fate hung in balance, and Bhaskhar moved on to take up more work. “By then, several people in the film industry had heard about Muthayya and there was respect for the team.”

Bhaskhar then directed the web series Sivarapalle, the Telugu adaptation of Panchayat, for Amazon Prime Video. Next, he is writing a film that is to be made on a larger scale for theatrical release.