Here is the national award winning director Neelakanta, who is well-known for making films with very novel concepts. Read our exclusive interview with him, where he talks about his upcoming film 'Maaya', his view on 'Extrasensory Perception' and whether he believes in it, reason for roping in Harshvardhan Rane as the lead actor, about heroines, music director etc.

Excerpts from the interview...

Backdrop

'Maaya' is an emotional thriller. The backdrop is 'Extrasensory perception'. A character clearly sees what happens in the future in front of him. We have prepared the story based on this.

Beyond five senses

Extrasensory Perception is nothing but a sense beyond our five senses. We feel the world with the help of our five senses. Sometimes, we feel some events without using these five senses. Whether it may be visually or because of a feeling in mind, we sense some events even before they happen. There are many types in this ESP like telepathy, precognition etc. 'Maaya' is based on 'Clairvoyance', which means clear vision. The character clearly sees the events that happen in the future.

He has done a fantastic job

Actually the lead actor in the film plays a fashion designer. We want someone who should be very stylish. So when I saw Harshvardhan Rane, I thought he perfectly suits the role. Moreover, the character has so many shades and Harshvardhan Rane has done a fantastic job.

Not the first

I don't say I am the first to do a film based on 'Extrasensory perception'. Many films have come before in other languages and many may come in the future. ESP is only a base. If you want to do a love story, you can do a Titanic, a 'Maro Charitra' or anyother. So ESP is only a base and while watching this film, you will not remember any Hollywood film or any other. You will see this as a special film.

Learned it

I've completed a journey of 20 years in the industry. I was introduced with the film, 'Priyanka'. This is a very emotional journey for me. I've seen both successes and failures. In fact, I have seen more failures. My films, 'Show', 'Missamma', 'Mr.Medhavi', 'Virodhi' were critically acclaimed and were successful. But I've learned that even if you tell a new story, you should tell it clearly and touchingly. Coming to 'Maaya', I have put a love story in it and the concept of ESP is told very convincingly.

I believe in it

I strongly believe in ESP. If I became a writer and a director today, from where do I get these story ideas. I've learnt to write stories by going to any school. There is a sense, beyond these five senses, because of which I get these ideas. A source of energy in the universe is connecting us and if we concentrate on it it will help us so much. Not only me, many are benefited because of that energy. Though science has not proved, I strongly believe that ESP exists.

No scope for confusion

If you watch my 'Show', I have created a character, though it doesn't exist and convinced the audiences as if it is there. I have also done it with my 'Nandanavanam 120 km'. So I am confident enough to say that I have the narrated the story of this psychological thriller without any confusion. I've analyzed so much for this story and I once again say that there is no scope of confusion in this film.

Different characters

Avanthika Mishra, Sushma Raj and Nandini Rai acted as the lead actresses in this film. This is the first Telugu film for the three of them. All the three characters are very different and each of them has a particular identity. Avanthika plays a TV journalist, Sushma is a fashion model and Nandini Rai plays a different character. They have given very good performances and I am very happy with them. I hope they will have a great future in TFI.

He didn't interfere

Madhura Sreedhar had liked my story very much, when I narrated it to him. We used to discuss about it If I have any doubts. I am always very open and interactive with producers. Madhura Sreedhar has not interfered anywhere, though he is also a director. Feedback is very important for this film and he has given me a very valuable one. I am very happy to have worked with him.

His best in recent times

Sekhar Chandra has given outstanding music score and the response for the songs is very good. Especially, the title song is being received well. The album is very fresh and all the five songs are very different. As this is a thriller movie, the songs shouldn't intrude the story and we have taken care about it. He has done a superb job. Coming to the background score, I think this is Sekhar Chandra's best in recent times. It is very gripping and carried the mood of the film. The camera work by Bal Reddy is also superb. The movie is very beautiful visually. My production designer Ramadevi has done a fabulous job regarding styling and costumes. Art director Babji has erected beautiful sets of fashion show and his artwork is very good.

The response for the trailers is very good and it is only because of editor Naveen. The movie also looks very different and his work is praiseworthy.

No plans yet

I have not planned any project and I will do it after the release of 'Maaya'

Neelakanta concluded by saying, "Maaya is one of my favourite films. It is a wonderful feeling that the dream of making this film has happened. The movie will be very interesting and gripping. Audiences will get a new experience and emotional high after watching this film. I believe that a beautiful mood will be