Exclusive! Director Venkatesh Triparna: Thrilled with positive feedback after Ram Asur's release on Amazon Prime Video

Ram Asur is a riveting thriller set across multiple timelines, revolving around the creation of diamonds, backed by a gripping screenplay and is filled with many intriguing twists and turns. While the film, starring Abhinav Sardar, Ram Karthik, Chandini Tamilarasan, Sherry Agarwal and others, had a limited theatrical release in November 2021, it went onto premiere on Amazon Prime Video recently and has clicked with OTT spectators quite well. In a conversation with OTTplay.com, the director-producer Venkatesh Triparna talks of Ram Asur, his debut film, and the many influences that nurtured his storytelling sensibilities.

'When the film bug bit me'

I hail from a lower-middle-class family and was born, brought up entirely in East Godavari district. I was drawn to films when I was doing my intermediate at Defence Academy in Vizag. I used to watch films regularly and was later inspired to write stories. I got a job in the Indian Air Force and was posted at Bhubaneshwar, but left it for my passion to be a part of the film industry. I knew my parents wouldn't let me go to Hyderabad to make films. With the excuse of doing my MBA, I came to the city. 

When I broke the news to them eventually, there was a lot of opposition because I had no safety net though they budged soon. Call it madness, passion or whatever, I never felt it necessary to have any backup or financial stability before entering films. Even after completing my MBA, I was never on a job hunt and was obsessed with cinema. I later joined as an assistant to director Maruthi. I worked with him on his first two films, Ee Rojullo and Bus Stop and went to Chennai soon, assisting on a few Tamil films. 

On his learning curve in the stint with Maruthi

Working with Maruthi (garu) was a huge asset to my career. In times when films are made over 100-150 days, he shocked many in the industry by finishing Ee Rojullu in just over a month and scored a big hit. Maruthi is capable of shooting over 5 to 6 scenes in a day and he created wonders by making small-budgeted successes in his initial set of films. These experiences helped me finish Ram Asur in just 24 days without compromising on quality. There are six action episodes, two songs, over 70 scenes in the film. Even costume changes were done in under five minutes and it was a total team effort.

The genesis of Ram Asur

Being a big fan of Shankar and SS Rajamouli, I have written a lot of larger-than-life stories keeping star heroes in mind. Convincing stars and starting such projects are usually a time-taking process. In the meanwhile, I wanted to get the ball rolling with a small film on a miniscule budget that can also work as a showcase of my capabilities. 

When we don't have big stars, the content should ideally stand out and I began working on an idea in August 2021, a story about diamonds. While stories about diamonds generally revolve around the smuggling angle, I thought of touching upon the creation of diamonds. I researched extensively about a man who made a diamond out of peanut butter. 

As the premise was locked, I thought it would be interesting to narrate the story across multiple timelines and establish a link between them, ensuring riveting twists and turns. While one part of the story is set in 1989, the other character belongs to the present. I finished writing the dialogue version in 25 days straight.

Working on Ram Asur amid two lockdowns

After the lockdown, post the first wave of the pandemic, we began working on Ram Asur in October 2020 on a shoestring budget. My friends and brother invested in the film, and later actor Abhinav Sardhar too helped in the production. We completed the shoot by January 2021 and the post-production was delayed because of the second wave and another phase of lockdown. The first copy was ready by July 2021. 

The theatre vs OTT confusion

Ram Asur originally was made for an OTT audience, but after watching the film's preview at Ramanaidu Studio and noticing its quality, we felt it had the potential to draw crowds to theatres too. A few people from the industry too suggested we look at a theatrical release. Though we were slightly sceptical whether audiences come to theatres, many gave us the confidence to go ahead. Within its limitations, the film garnered a good response from viewers.

But for actors like Abhinav Sardar, Ram Karthik, Subhalekha Sudhakar and Suman, Ram Asur's cast is filled with newcomers. I trusted my content and was helped by a strong technical team. Bheems Ceciroleo, the composer, is a well-known name and did a fine job with the background score, while M Prabhakar Reddy is an experienced cinematographer, having worked on Ee Rojullo, Prema Katha Chitram. Paidi Reddy Basava has edited over 100 films to date. They worked with very little remuneration and understood my vision, executing their jobs to perfection.

After the film's digital release on Amazon Prime Video, the reception has been very satisfying. We're genuinely excited now, flooded with texts, calls and positive feedback. Many people are surprised that such a high-quality product was made on a small budget. Generally, the quality of the film is decided by its budget, be it costumes, the locations or the visuals. We overcame many such limitations and came out unscathed.

The thin line between an OTT film and a theatrical film

In OTT, you don't have the burden of bringing in familiar faces; quality content with a gripping screenplay would do the job for you. With a theatrical release, it's important to have a strong crowd pulling factor. If audiences don't see a popular face on a film poster, there's no way they'll come to the theatre and buy the ticket. Pawan Kalyan, Prabhas and Jr NTR have great openings for their films because of their track record and fan base. The success ratio of scoring a hit without popular faces is just about 0.5% in the industry. 

The pros and cons of producing a film with your friends and family

There are a handful of advantages and disadvantages when it is a home production, especially when it involves the money invested by friends and family. I have the luxury of executing the entire project on my own terms as per my vision without any questions being asked. Handling direction and production is extremely challenging though. While you need to focus on a shot, a part of your mind is thinking about the cost-cutting, payments. I underwent a lot of stress while making the film but I forget all of it when I listen to great feedback.