Tirumalnag says he's inspired by the works of the late director Jandhyala, late lyricist Sirivennela, and music composer-actor RP Patnaik.
Dialogue writer Tirumalnag. (Supplied)
Writer Tirumalnag’s latest venture as a dialogue writer, Maya Petika (Magic Box), recently hit the marquee on 30 June. It raised curiosity among the audience due to the promotions and has won mixed reviews.
The film features Payal Rajput, Viraj Ashwin, Simrat Kaur, Sunil, and Srinivas Reddy in key roles. Its story revolves around a smartphone that changes hands and the experiences of the people who use it.
Maya Petika director Ramesh Raparthy delivered a reasonably good movie earlier — Thank You Brother (2021) starring Viraj Ashwin and Anasuya Bharadwaj.
A poster of Ramesh Raparthy’s ‘Maya Petika’. (Tirumal Nag/ Instagram)
According to Tirumalnag, Maya Petika is a simple story; it has no complicated twists and turns.
“The film begins with the inception of a cell phone — its manufacturing company — and showcases how it changes hands and subsequently impacts the person’s life. We presented a detailed character sketch by describing the situations,” the writer told South First.
“Despite having several primary characters, the film in itself is a hero. It is the box that does the magic,” he noted.
The dialogue writer stated that he couldn’t categorise Maya Petika into a particular genre since it portrayed five different stories and each story was of a different genre.
When asked how he bagged the project, Tirumalnag said: “I wrote dialogues for a movie starring comedian Srinivas Reddy. Its co-director Surender liked my work and recommended me for Maya Petika.”
He was then introduced to director Ramesh Raparthy who gave him complete freedom to design the characters in the flick.
Tirumalnag. (Supplied)
Interestingly, Tirumalnag has been working consistently in the Telugu film industry only since 2014-2015. Earlier, he was doing it on a part-time basis because of his family issues.
The writer revealed that his passion for skits and dramas led him to pursue a career in the field of cinema.
“I hail from Bhimavaram of West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. I did many stage plays and participated in cultural activities during my school days. Since college, I took to arts and started participating in youth festivals.”
“I always wanted to narrate things in a different way and this motivated me to write drama. Earlier, I would write dialogues for the other’s stories. But that made me think why shouldn’t I write and present my own stories,” Tirumalnag recollected.
So, he started coordinating the cast and directing the plays. He even bagged several prizes for his skits and one-act plays.
“Every time I was part of the cultural events, my college would win a prize,” he guffawed.
Tirumalnag says he’s inspired by the late lyricist Sirivennela. (Supplied)
The writer is hugely motivated by the late Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry. He calls the lyricist-poet the driving force behind his literary career.
Music composer-actor RP Patnaik has also been a catalyst in Tirumalnag’s career.
“At the youth festival held in Andhra Pradesh’s Penugonda town, I saw RP Patnaik performing a stage play where he played the role of a blind man with gusto. I soon got in touch and collaborated with him on his work. Right now, I’m part of a host of films — small and big — as a writer,” Tirumalnag added.
The writer said he loved the dialogues penned by late director Jandhyala.
“I’ve grown up watching Jandhyala’s movies. His words are simple and I believe that a dialogue shouldn’t dominate the story. I write within my limits and always aim at saying something differently,” he signed off.
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