Sujana Rao: Ilaiyaraaja’s appreciation was the best compliment

Debut director Sujana Rao holds forth on how urbanisation and the annual deluge during monsoons are the backdrop for the stories in her Telugu film ‘Gamanam’

“It will not be an exaggeration to say that the rains have played a character in my film and that I dedicate this project to the memories of monsoon from my childhood,” says first-time director Sujana Rao, while discussing her Telugu film Gamanam. Scheduled to release in theatres on December 10, Gamanam stars Shriya Saran, Shiva Kandukuri, Priyanka Jawalkar, Suhas, Charuhasan and Nithya Menen (in a cameo). The anthology film, produced by cinematographer Gnana Shekhar V S along with Venki Pushadapu and Ramesh Karutoori, explores how characters in three stories cope with a deluge following torrential downpour.

The premise seems relevant considering how flooding in low-lying areas has become an annual feature in Hyderabad. Sujana reminisces, “A few years ago when I was studying at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), we used to visit a nearby waterbody and take photographs. Later we noticed the area being turned into a construction site. Each year when there’s flooding in Hyderabad or Chennai, we read about how it is a man-made disaster, as waterbodies get encroached in the name of urban development. That made me write Gamanam. I wanted to explore how this affects people in different age groups, from an infant to an elderly person, to represent the circle of life.”