X&Y director Satya Prakash: I stood in front of Upendra’s house for 8 months before I got a break

As a youngster, all that filmmaker D Satya Prakash dreamt of was about playing cricket and becoming a professional cricketer. But a bout of ill health in a crucial year, just as he was approaching the cut off age to play at state-level meant that this was not to be. And though he didn’t grow up on a healthy diet of films, Satya turned to cinema after he was introduced to the world of books and read everything that he could lay his hands on.

V Manohar gave Satya Prakash his first break

The idea of telling stories fascinated him, but he had no idea of how to channel that and even when he eventually figured that cinema was the path for him, getting into the industry remained a daunting task. “I spent two and half years roaming around and have stood in front of pretty much everyone’s house who was associated with cinema back then. I stood in front of Upendra’s house for 8 months and even showed him some of my writing samples, but he was not directing anything at the time and said he would reach out if there was an opportunity. Eventually, the person who got me into the film industry was V Manohar sir,” reminisced Satya.

Manohar got Satya to write dummy lyrics for his music and that set the latter’s cinema journey in motion. But the move to direction and complete understanding of filmmaking came when he began working with TS Nagabharana. “I had not watched a lot of films until then, so whatever craft I know now, it all came from my days with Nagabharana sir,” he adds.

Also read: X&Y trailer: An unborn soul’s adventure to unite its prospective parents 

Satya’s first film was Rama Rama Re, which he followed up with Ondalla Eradalla, Man of the Match and now, X&Y, which will be in theatres on June 26, 2025. This time around, Satya is telling a simple fun fantasy film revolving around an unborn soul and its perceptions of the world while on a ‘trip’ to earth. Satya is joined by Atharva Prakash, Brinda Acharya and Ayaana, among others, on the cast of the film.