Naqaab Interview

A black screen slowly parts to reveal a theatre scene. On the stage, a father and his son are sitting together conversing. As the two are disagreeing on the son’s career, the father furiously leaves the scene and the son by himself. At this, the theatre erupts in applause. This moment is one of the many gigs that Anirudh performed in during his college days. Anirudh is portrayed as a character who admires acting and often puts his best foot forward, despite the fact that he had to give up his love for acting after college in order to keep his family afloat. His father had unfortunately passed away and subsequently, due to financial constraints, he worked a job he didn’t particularly enjoy till late night to support his family. This piece takes us on a journey of countless sacrifices, fleeting dreams and quiet resilience tracing Anirudh's path from the bright lights of the stage to the dim glow of late night work, all the while keeping his passion for acting alive and free.

Superstar was written and directed by Abhiram Yalamanchili alongside his assistant directors, G V J Nagendra, Snehita Reddy and Kishore Raj. The cinematography was carried by Yash Raj Agarwal who was also engaged in editing. The original score, songs, and lyrics were created by Manoj Kumar Karanam and Dk Bose who also contributed as singers along with Pranidhi K. Further. sound design, mixing and mastering were overseen by Anubhav Gupta who also lent his voice to the cast. The cast includes Kishore Raj, Mary Thomas, Abhiram Yalamanchili and Snehita Reddy. Inspired by a friend’s unexpected family tragedy, “Superstar” emerged from the collective teamwork and dedication by the whole crew even under various college commitments. Though the film was initially planned to wrap up in two months, college commitments stretched their production to 4 months only to witness their perseverance and patience.

Abhiram explains that ‘Superstar’ found its beginnings in October of last year, the first scene plays out in his head, a captivating opening to the film that would reach audiences 11 months later. The next few months passed in a blur of writing, casting, shooting, and editing. He very coolly recalls that they’d begun shooting in the second week of February, only to scrap all of it and start afresh when the footage shot didn’t live up to his vision. The film is undoubtedly a labor of love, by a team of about 12 people, each carrying their weight immensely. Snehita, the assistant director, recalls one of the most challenging shots were the scenes shot on the scooty, where the close up on Anirudh’s face in the mirror required even the cameraman to balance on the scooty with them. Watching those scenes again after we’d wrapped up the interview gave me a new found appreciation for the craft behind the shot.

Kishore, who plays Anirudh, admits that his biggest challenge was the language. The film is in Telugu, while he speaks Tamil. I listened in awe as he described how he pulled off a 45 minute lead performance where every line is delivered with the utmost thought and emotion that at no point does the audience suspect Telugu isn’t his first language. Abhiram also describes how they took around 11 hours to film the circling around sequence of Anirudh auditioning for different roles. Despite such effort, the entire crew is very humble and self-critical of their work, however the truth is- the film is nothing short of excellent. It packs brilliant writing, a relatable character and wonderful cinematography, it is a film that rewards a second watch, allowing the viewer to really appreciate the effort and detail gone behind eahc scene.

One of the most overlooked achievements of Superstar is its duration. The quality of writing, acting and production is at its best from the very first scene to the very end, before the credits roll- which is no small feat. Abhiram explains that when writing he sets no restrictions on the story and lets the story flow naturally. The runtime also reflects other considerations, resources, time and feasibility. He emphasizes on multiple occasions that this story deserves a lot more time to be told to its full capacity.

The music of Superstar is just as crucial to the film as its writing and visuals. Two songs- ‘Undani Nannila’ and ‘Cheruvaite’ by the band DK Bose are used in the movie, much to the director’s delight, the band offered the rights free of cost, because they liked the script so much. Their music elevates the plot’s tender and intense moments wonderfully. The film also has an original score, Spirit of Superstar, composed by Manoj Kumar. The song came to life very effortlessly, through a constant back and forth between Manoj and Abhiram to decide on what felt right for the film. The piece also includes vocals by Pranidhi K, an MIT alumna, whose harmonies add a lot of texture to the music.

The film “Superstar” conveys a very meaningful message. His father’s message had not just impacted Anirudh, rather it influenced the entire audience base. Throughout the years, his father’s letters that he’d written to his son each birthday helped him realise in the end that we must not give up. Rather, if we fall, we need to rise and keep going. This time, it is Anirudh who writes letters to his deceased father. The film ended on a beautiful note. Director Abhiram concluded that this would be their last project and that it was truly a memorable experience. Whether Anirudh finally has his big moment on stage, one thing's for sure, he did turn out to be the Superstar his dad had always imagined him to be.