Films in his DNA

Suresh Babu talks about how he got into the business of film production

Call it providence, or fate, or what you will – Suresh Babu was destined to be in films.

But the path he took was not a direct one, reveals the producer. Suresh Babu’s father Rama Naidu had burnt his fingers in the film industry, and the family, which passed through tough times, considered the business risky. Rama Naidu wanted his son to become either a doctor or an engineer, or get into manufacturing. Accordingly, Suresh Babu went to USA to do his engineering. When he came back, he set up a factory called Spartek Ceramics, along with a friend, the producer reveals. But it didn’t do well.

Meanwhile, his looks resembled that of the young Kamal Haasan, and he was often mistaken for the Ek Duje Keliye actor in those days. It was Rama Naidu who first mentioned this in an interview, and Suresh Babu corroborates it. “Even our cars were similar,” he recalls. “People would try to stop me, thinking I was Kamal Haasan. I would wave from the car,” he says with a laugh. Suresh Babu was even approached by popular director Bharatiraja for a role in a film. “But I was never interested in acting,” says the producer. However, films were part of his DNA.

With Spartek Ceramics failing to take off, Suresh Babu found himself spending time in his father’s office. “I had a reasonable sense of story from the beginning. I was able to do corrections while sitting in on the story discussions,” he reveals. The first film discussion he was involved in was for Devatha, starring Sobhan Babu, Sridevi and Jayaprada. He helped his father with production work for four years from 1982. He then wanted to return to USA. That was when his younger brother Venkatesh decided to enter films. “We were supposed to make a film with Krishna garu, but he wanted us to produce it jointly with ASR Anjaneyulu garu. My father and director Raghavendra Rao did not agree to this, and decided to introduce Venky and the rest is history,” says Suresh Babu. Venky’s debut film was a hit, but after that there were a series of flops. “So, I didn’t go to USA,” says Suresh Babu. “I wanted to see that he got a good break. It took a few years. Bobbili Raja happened in 1990, and after that success, he settled as an actor. I too decided to stay on in India,” explains Suresh Babu, recounting how he had started his journey as a producer. “My father never put any pressure on us,” he adds. “I was good at production, and Venkatesh wanted to be an actor.”

I had a reasonable sense of story from the beginning. I was able to do corrections while sitting in on the story discussions

— Suresh Babu