Panaji (Goa): Renowned film-maker and screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad, who is known for his projects like Baahubali, RRR, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Magadheera, was among the personalities from the Indian film industry who received honours during the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI). In addition, he held a workshop on the margins of the event titled "The Master's Writing Process." In the workshop, he spoke with aspiring filmmakers and offered tips on how he writes for movies.
Talking about how he started his journey, he said, "I did everything possible to earn a living including agriculture before becoming a writer. The writing came much later in life." As someone who didn't learn scripting, "RRR" screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad says he looks up to former writer duo Salim-Javed and still watches their 1975 masterpiece "Sholay" to get over a creative block. In the late '80s, Prasad came across Ramesh Sippy’s “Sholay”, penned by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar.
Since then, the Hindi multistarrer action drama has served as a reference book for scriptwriting for him. “I'm a big fan of Salim-Javed. I saw 'Sholay'. I borrowed cassettes and saw the movie again and again. I learnt how they wrote the characters and interconnected them with emotions... Even today, when I write and face a creative block, I just watch two-three scenes from ‘Sholay’,” he added.
The 80-year-old Telugu cinema veteran, who has emerged as one of the most bankable scribes in the Indian film industry today, started his journey as writer when he was in his late 40s. “I started writing in 1988-1989. I was in my 40s and didn't have time to learn scripting or go to a school. I had to find out shortcuts,” said Prasad, also known for blockbusters “Magadheera, “Mersal”, “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, and the “Baahubali” series. Prasad was speaking at the Masterclass session ‘The Master’s writing process’ here at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Monday.
“Mayabazaar”, the 1957 Telugu classic featuring NT Rama Rao, Gemini Ganesan, Savitri and SV Ranga Rao, also bears influence on his filmography, the writer said. “In that film everything is perfect. Not even a single shot is wasted,” he added. Talking about keeping the audience in mind while writing, the writer said, "I always try to create a hunger within the audience for my story and characters and that drives me to create something unique and appealing".
While talking about his screenwriting style, Shri Prasad said, he always thinks of a twist at the interval and organizes the story accordingly. "You have to create something out of nothing. You have to present a lie, which looks like the truth. A person who can tell a good lie can be a good storyteller", he added. "I don't write stories, I steal them. Stories are there around you, be it epics like Mahabharat, Ramayan or real-life incidents, there are stories everywhere. You need to represent it in your unique style," said V Vijayendra Prasad during his workshop session.
Responding to the query of a budding story writer, the ace storyteller said, one has to open up his or her mind and absorb everything. "You need to be your own harshest critic, then only your best will come out and you can take your work to unscalable heights", he asserted. Terming himself a “successful failure”, the writer said he has tried his hand at many things before making a mark in the film industry. "I’ve been a successful failure at so many things before I started writing. I did agriculture, fertilizer business, and I started a factory but it didn't work,” he said.
Sharing his experience of writing for the blockbusters like Baahubali and RRR, Shri Prasad said, "I don't write, I dictate stories. I have everything in my mind; the flow of the story, the characters, the twists". He said, one good writer should cater to the needs of the Director, Producer, Primary Protagonist and Audience. Vijayendra Prasad is currently working on the story for the sequel to the global blockbuster 'RRR'. (With Agency Inputs)
