“Back in school, I had fifty percent of the lot treat me as a budding filmmaker. The other fifty would treat me as a student who never took his education seriously. Honestly, I have experienced a great deal of discouragement about the talent I am gifted with.

Up until my seventh standard, watching a movie was just a mode of entertainment for me. The film industry was something I never really planned to jump into. That was until I came across an organization called ‘Intact’ which was associated with our school for workshops based on filmmaking. We had our social studies ma’am come into the class and ask if any of us were interested in this workshop. You won’t believe from among forty students, I was the only one who decided to take part in it. I’m not sure what motivated me. But it was a life changing experience for someone who was not inclined towards movies. We were asked to work on a short film and submit it to the jury. I selected my theme as ‘water conservation’ which was inclined towards a documentary film rather than a commercial short film. As I completed my first film, new concepts began to seed and I moved on to working for the second documentary right after. In one and a half months, I submitted both my short films to the jury and was awarded the best screenplay and best story. Later it was screened in twenty-six schools across Hyderabad.

Although my father has been part of the film industry as an art director for twenty-one years now, he was never up for the idea of me pursuing a career in this industry. Honestly, I’ve not got much support from my family. They believe the film industry is a place with more risks and less success. Regardless of these comments, my mother has always been my support system. She is someone who believes in having a backup plan and her guidance is what motivated me to take up engineering as plan B.

Having heard and distantly seen the kind of experiences filmmakers go through, it was heart-wrenching to know the kind of opinions people have on them. This is what inspired me to work on my first book called ‘The Commercial Cinema’. It talks about the criticisms and obstruction a filmmaker goes through. The launch of the book was not an easy experience, if I may say. People did use the word nepotism during the book launch and I know I have come a long way, constantly learning and evolving. One day, I am sure people will see me beyond the N word.”