Director Sriwass is proud of 'Saakshyam', which hit the screens on Friday last. In this detailed and long interview, he defends his product against all criticisms.

A unique concept

Since the very concept of the movie is new, the audiences are finding 'Saakshyam' to be quite refreshing. I had always wanted to do a fresh film like this one. But since the circumstances didn't favour it, I couldn't do it. With 'Loukhyam', I fulfilled my desire to do an entertainment-oriented film. With 'Dictator', I did the kind of film that suited Balayya Babu. 'Saakshyam' comes at a time when the audience's tastes are fast changing and CGI technology is evolving.

It's a revenge of a different kind

We have seen revenge stories dime a dozen. But 'Saakshyam' is not about 'Prathikaram' (revenge in full knowledge) but 'Prathicharya' (revenge extracted even though the avenger doesn't know of the sin done by the evil). Had the film had a big star, the audience would have asked as to how come he does things without knowing why he is doing it. But with an actor like Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas, such questions won't be there. No changes were made to the script during the shoot.

A never-seen-before idea:

I googled if there is any film made in some country about the five elements of Nature. There is no other film of the 'Saakshyam' variety. I didn't want to go ahead with a concept which has already been tried by someone else.

Layered screenplay:

The criticism that Ananth Sriram's character tells everything in advance doesn't wash. If you watch 'Saakshyam' with rapt attention, you will know that the screenplay has got three layers. The first layer involves a voice-over (by Prakash Raj), which tells that the child (who grows up to be the hero) may not know the brutalities inflicted upon his elders, the villains may not know that the child is alive but Nature is witness to everything. This second layer involves the video game format. There is this question mark over how Valmiki (Ananth Sriram) knows everything. The third layer involves the actual detailing of the video game. Only a few shots of what is going to happen in Varanasi, etc is shown in advance. With these shots, nobody can predict what is going to happen.

Not a timepass movie:

'Saakshyam' shouldn't be seen as a timepass movie. It's an intelligent film. If you don't pay attention to the screenplay, you will complain.

Giving back is the concept:

Since I grew up in a village, I conceived the ideas on the basis of the possibilities offered by village life. The calf saving the child is an act of paying back for it. Previously, the child's father had saving its mother from smugglers. The concept of giving back is there at every step in the story.

Depiction of violence is justified:

The violence had to be extraordinary. The sins of the villains have to be too big. After all, it's not an ordinary human who is avenging them. It's the Nature which is doing it. So, the villains are shown resorting to unspeakable brutalities against children, women, etc.

Skeptical actors:

Ashutosh Rana and Ravi Kishan were skeptical to be one of the villains in the movie. Jagapathi Babu garu told me he might lose his female fan base if he did a violent role such as this one.

Nobody is ready for songless films:

If and when the audience are ready to accept a film without songs, the first ones to feel happy would be the directors. No director wants a song to interrupt the pace of his story. But are the audience ready to accept 90-minute films? If there is no musical interlude for relief between two heavy-duty episodes, the distributors are going to ask for a song! In 'Saakshyam', the engagement song is there because the hero's family members don't know what is happening in the hero's life. It's business as usual for them.

VFX is a big deal:

We did VFX works to the extent we could do, given the budget. The likes of 'Baahublai' and '2.0' can afford to wait for months and more than a year to get the VFX right. Their budgets are too large. The version of VFX you are seeing in 'Saakshyam' was preceded by several versions. No director is satisfied totally with the technical output.

Peter Hein has a vision:

Since Sai Srinivas is a budding hero, he is very passionate. As for Peter Hein, he was pretty much excited upon listening to my narration. He is not just a fight master but someone who has a directorial sense. He liked the span and range of fights in the movie. For example, in the climax, the hero comes riding the ox. It's my vision. How it's executed with the technology available was thought over by Peter Hein.

RR plays a key role in 'Saakshyam'

The one thing I was most stressed about while making the movie has to do with the music. Harshavardhan Rameshwar had done the BGM for 'Arjun Reddy'. But nobody knows how he does songs. The BGM of 'Saakshyam' is unique because I envisioned a lot of space for it. The first 20 minutes of the film sees dialogues only for 5 minutes. The rest of it is driven by RR to a great extent.

The effect of lighting:

When I was working under Krishna Vamsi garu for films like 'Murari', he noticed that I take extra interest in my work. He told me that I should take up direction. I was very good at scouting for locations. Working on a film like 'Annamayya' gave me a lot of idea about how to elevate divinity using lighting technique. I used those lessons in the making of 'Saakshyam'. By deploying lighting properly, you can give the audience goosebumps. Sai Madhav Burra garu's dialogues for the movie are working big time.

Depends on what they ask of me:

It's not like I want to do films with heavy action scenes every time. I have an action-less concept. But what I will do next will depend on the producers and hero I will get to work with. If someone feels I should do a film with a wider span than even Saakshyam's, then I will have to do it.