A Guinness record for Manasanamaha
Director Deepak Reddy overwhelmed by appreciation for his short
Telugu short film Manasanamaha has set a Guinness Record as the first short film to get 513 awards at various film festivals. (A Spanish film had earlier won 364 awards).
Director Deepak Reddy is overwhelmed with the love his short has been garnering over the last couple of years. “Guinness Record is something we never expected. We made the film as a demo product for my subsequent films, but to be right up there is truly amazing,” he shares. Manasanamaha follows the journey of Surya, portrayed by Viraj Ashwin, as he shares three different love stories in his life from present to the past.
Deepak says there’s neither a commercial element nor a message in this short. What resonated with everyone in the 17 minute long short was the unique narrative.
“The film shows the story unravelling in reverse. We started off with a break up and then went on to show how love can blossom and gave it a poetic spin,” says the filmmaker, adding that the film was praised by all top celebs in Tollywood. Manasanamaha was first streamed on Youtube during April 2020 for a couple of months. But as appreciation grew, it was removed from public streaming and the makers started pushing it for various film festivals.
“The film even qualified for the Oscars 22 in ‘Best Live Action’ category and it was one of the best moments in my life. The prerequisite to qualify for the Oscars is that the short has to win acclaim in many film festivals. And I was thrilled with the way our film won love from various filmmakers at different international film festivals,” shares Deepak.
WHAT RESONATED WITH EVERYONE IN THE 17 MINUTE LONG SHORT WAS THE UNIQUE NARRATIVE. THE FILM SHOWS THE STORY UNRAVELLING IN REVERSE. WE STARTED OFF WITH A BREAK UP AND THEN WENT ON TO SHOW HOW LOVE CAN BLOSSOM AND GAVE IT A POETIC SPIN
His best moment came when Marc Webb, director of the film 500 Days of Summer, appreciated Manasanamaha. “That’s the icing on the cake, Marc is one of my favourite directors and appreciation from him is overwhelming,” says Deepak, who is also writing the script for a feature film.