Exclusive: ‘Virupaksha’ is four years of my labour and love, says director Karthik Varma Dandu

On his love for thrillers

But how did he pick up a fetish for horror and thrillers?

“I watched many films by Ram Gopal Varma, Manoj Night Shyamalan and Mani Ratnam. Eventually, my thought process changed. I would see Star Movies and get exposed to global cinema, too,” he recollected.

Karthik Varma Dandu on the sets of ‘Bham Bholenath’. (Facebook)

“We go through happiness and sadness in our lives but we never experience or aspire to experience some real thrill. We avoid it out of fear but get excited and entertained when we derive it from the cinema. I love the genre,” Karthik Varma Dandu observed.

Virupaksha (Shiva’s third eye), like Kantara, is a mystical thriller and the genre is visiting us after aeons. So, how did the filmmaker sustain his interest in the genre?

Karthik was active in cultural activities during his academics. He couldn’t pursue his interest after his father passed away. So, he began making short films, made mistakes and corrected himself.

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A poster of ‘Bham Bholenath’. (karthikdandu86/Twitter)

“I made around seven short films and got recognition when one of them was screened at an open theatre near Vizag Beach. A producer from a television channel summoned me, I gave him stories and directed the pilot episode,” he recalled.

Karthik Varma Dandu also was the second unit director of another TV channel for a Telugu serial which, he says, did it for survival.

The director recalls being asked to quit as he didn’t follow the style of stretching and dragging the serials and shot the content meant for 20 parts in five episodes.

On Karthikeya

He along with his director-friend Chandoo Mondeti developed Karthikeya starring Nikhil Siddhartha and it became a runaway hit.

“In school, I read ‘The Hound of The Baskervilles‘ and narrated it multiple times to my friends. I believed that if I narrated it, I would remember it well for the exam. My teachers too would listen and enjoy. That’s how Karthikeya came up,” Karthik noted.

At that time, Chandoo Mondeti was shooting Swami Ra Ra (Invoking God) with Nikhil. Since Nikhil’s dates were available, Karthik and Chandoo developed the story.

Karthik Varma Dandu was the main assistant director for Karthikeya. It was his first project for the silver screen. After this, he directed Bham Bholenath (2015), a crime comedy. Virupaksha is Karthik’s second directorial venture.

Staring at the Sky-high love you’re giving for #VirupakshaTrailer 🤩
– https://t.co/C2Ha8BsmyI

Will see you in theatres in9️⃣days.#Virupaksha
#VirupakshaFromApril21 pic.twitter.com/lhk7mxb1j6

— Sai Dharam Tej (@IamSaiDharamTej) April 12, 2023

About his upcoming film Virupaksha

“While Karthikeya dealt with treachery committed by a man using God as a scapegoat, Virupaksha is about black magic and its consequences. I don’t believe in black magic and Bod’s boons and curses. I am an atheist,” the filmmaker said.

Karthik Varma Dandu. (Facebook)

Black magic is practised by certain sections in Odisha and Visakhapatnam.

“Virupaksha’s story is fictional and has an underlined message but some authentic information has been sourced from Atharva Veda,” he added.

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Sukumar wrote the screenplay and he was impressed with the story. Discussions with him influenced Karthik Varma Dandu’s execution style.

Also, during the pandemic, people got exposed to global cinema and that gave the director confidence that his story would work.

The first and second waves of Covid-19 played havoc with the schedules. After the script got the green signal and when they were finally ready to shoot, Sai Dharam Tej met with an accident.

This time,
The Fight is against the unknown 🤛#VirupakshaTeaser OUT NOW 👇
– https://t.co/vq1ApJb4rP@iamsamyuktha_ @karthikdandu86 @AJANEESHB @Shamdatdop @BvsnP @aryasukku@bkrsatish @SVCCofficial @SukumarWritings#CourageOverFear#Virupaksha #VirupakshaOnApril21st pic.twitter.com/ArnNCxVG4p

— Sai Dharam Tej (@IamSaiDharamTej) March 2, 2023

On Sai Dharam Tej’s accident

Karthik Varma Dandu recollects the bottlenecks that led him to believe in the divine which he terms as some positive energy.

“For 28 days, no one knew what was happening. The shoot of Virupaksha was to begin on Monday and Sai Dharam Tej met with an accident on Saturday. Just like Ram Gopal Varma says, ‘every atheist is a half-believer at night’. Now, I believe that there is some positive energy,” he said.

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Karthik Varma Dandu with actor Sai Dharam Tej. (karthikdandu86/Twitter)

Karthik just wanted Sai Dharam Tej to come out of the coma. He says the film was the last thing on his mind and was confident that he could do it any time.

“I met Sai Dharam Tej after he was discharged and that’s when I got scared. He became slim. He had to hold his pants and walk. They were loose since he lost weight. I was worried if he would regain his energy and weight. I even wondered if his speech would be normal,” the director recollected.

But Sai Dharam Tej promised to be back on track soon and he kept his word. He was even dubbed for Virupaksha after taking speech therapy.

“For me, Virupaksha is like giving birth to a baby. I carried it for four long years,” Karthik Varma Dandu signed off.