Gulte Movie News And Politics
Director Srikar Nayan is gearing up for the release of his debut film Summer Holidays. Ahead of the film’s theatrical arrival, the young filmmaker sat down with Gulte Pro’s Ram Venkat Srikar for an interesting conversation about his journey, filmmaking influences and experiences in the industry.
Srikar revealed that his interest in cinema started during his school days in Visakhapatnam. He recalled skipping school and jumping the hostel wall to watch July at Kinnera Kameswari theatre. Happy Days and Jagadam were among the films that strongly influenced him, with Jagadam remaining his all time favourite. He particularly admires Sukumar’s storytelling, shot making and attention to detail.
After moving to Hyderabad in 2019, Srikar explored different opportunities before deciding to enter mainstream filmmaking. He worked as an assistant director for three films, including Thellavarithe Guruvaram and Vidya Vasula Aham. He believes working in the AD department is essential for aspiring directors as it helps them understand every department, manage people and, most importantly, learn the value of time on a film set.
Talking about his creative learning, Srikar said YouTube interviews, filmmaking videos and regular film analysis helped him improve his understanding of cinema. He particularly follows interviews with filmmakers and technicians, along with programmes such as Bommalata, Paruchuri Pathalu and KRR Stories. He also revealed how veteran filmmaker Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s suggestion to write one page stories based on Telugu idioms helped him develop his storytelling skills.
Interestingly, Summer Holidays was not the first story Srikar wanted to take to the big screen. He had earlier pitched a family drama and a courtroom drama to several people. One of those projects even reached an advanced stage, with an actor and production discussions in place, but it eventually failed to materialise. That experience pushed him to take a different route and make a film with children at its centre.
Srikar initially planned the project under the title My Summer Friend and eventually developed it into Summer Holidays. Instead of waiting for another opportunity, he decided to take the initiative and move forward with the film. He also spoke about the challenges of pitching stories, finding genuine industry connections and dealing with the many people who promise to introduce filmmakers to producers.
With Summer Holidays set for release in just a few days, Srikar is now looking forward to presenting his work to audiences. In his conversation with Ram Venkat Srikar, the director opened up about his favourite films, filmmaking influences, struggles, learning process and the journey behind making his first feature film.
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