A dose of reality with a touch of humour
Director Maruthi reflects on his brand of films whilst talking about his next movie, Pakka Commercial
Most of his films aim at entertainment, and true to type, director Maruthi’s next, Pakka Commercial, has a lot of hilarious elements.
Starring Gopichand and Raashii Khanna, the film is about how a guy’s father suffers as a result of corruption in a judicial set up. “Although the subject is sensitive, I have dealt with the story in a fun way,” says the director, adding that he has always opted for the lighter style of narration. “The protagonist (Gopichand) is a lawyer who doesn’t do anything if it doesn’t benefit him. This quality of his generates a lot of humour. Raashii works as his junior,” says the director.
“I believed the character would suit Gopichand’s style and my kind of filmmaking,” he adds.
In his ten-year journey in showbiz, Maruthi has made around 20 films. He says that there’s a lot more to do.
“In the next decade I have decided to do
films that give me creative satisfaction. I want to do conceptbased and out-of-the-box plots,” he shares.
The filmmaker admits that he has so far done films that are a safe bet. “A few of my films might have failed creatively, but I have never made a film which failed on the cost aspect,” he asserts. Meanwhile, production costs and budgets have shot up over the last few years. With OTT platforms emerging, Maruthi feels that the biggest challenge for a filmmaker is to draw the audience to theatres. “For the audience, cinema is not a priority, so a filmmaker has to create that scope for priority and make the audience flock to theatres,” he explains.
Last year, the filmmaker made a web series for an OTT platform. He says there’s more to be explored on that front.
“Filmmaking is evolving and so are content and actors. Working on OTT pushed me to think beyond boundaries,” he says, signing off.
FOR THE AUDIENCE, CINEMA IS NOT A PRIORITY, SO A FILMMAKER HAS TO CREATE THAT SCOPE FOR PRIORITY AND MAKE THE AUDIENCE FLOCK TO THEATRES. A FEW OF MY FILMS MIGHT HAVE FAILED CREATIVELY, BUT I HAVE NEVER MADE A FILM WHICH FAILED ON THE COST ASPECT