The writer shares his thoughts about the world of cinema, screenwriting, his journey thus far, upcoming talents, and the imminent threat from Artificial Intelligence.
Anirudh Krishnamurthy (Supplied)
Anirudh Krishnamurthy is one of the most talented and among the youngest writers in the Telugu film industry. He wrote the dialogues and screenplay of Nikhil Siddharth’s Spy, which is in the last stages of shooting.
The producer narrated a baseline of the story along with the flow of events, and Anirudh Krishnamurthy did necessary improvisations, and began writing a screenplay. For him, screenplay and dialogues are conjoined twins and he enjoys the process.
In a candid chat with South First, the writer shares his thoughts about the world of cinema, screenwriting, his journey thus far, upcoming talents, the imminent threat from Artificial Intelligence, and a lot more.
Writer Anirudh Krishnamurthy. (Supplied)
Ask him why he switched from business administration to cinema, Anirudh Krishnamurthy quips: “My father never believed in careers. He said ‘You have to know life first’. I did an MBA and was told to fit into the corporate world. I worked for 3-4 years, and then I wanted to quit. It wasn’t my cup of tea.”
As time passed, he realised he was sitting in someone’s chair.
“The company taught me how people are, their mindset, and their team environment. Also, I made good friends who are still with me. It was a very good learning experience.”
When asked how he comprehends the world of cinema, Anirudh Krishnamurthy remarks, “I was smitten by cinema. I still remember my first visit to the theatre and the first image I saw on the silver screen. It was from Mayabazar (1957). My dad was a movie buff, but he stopped watching films after landing a job.”
The writer further adds: “Through him, I understood that people in their mid-30s are the ones who hardly turn to theatres. After returning home, I would narrate the story and people used to like it. I could feel the passion for cinema and analyse it — break down the process and understand what it takes to be there. I was 20 years old then. But I quit it without having a plan.”
So, did he ever get any advice that he couldn’t ignore?
Anirudh Krishnamurthy refers to filmmaker Deva Katta’s article published on a website.
Editor-DoP Garry BH. (Supplied)
“It helped me understand what cinema is. I began doing comedy videos, experimenting with cameras, editing, understanding why I couldn’t generate an expression I wanted to convey, etc. I was making movie promotional videos and interacting with actors,” he recalls.
His first video was with Vijay Devarakonda for Pelli Choopulu (2016). “A few days later, he stopped making videos and embarked on a journey as an assistant director for Vaarahi for a film titled Vijetha (2018). I then began writing and one of the co-directors with Vaarahi advised me to focus on my writing skill.”
Anirudh also recollects how Peddinti Ashok Kumar helped him understand Telangana maandalikam (dialect).
“Books are a great source of knowledge/exposure. Book reading is as important as watching films. I enjoy the smell of books. My sleep cycle is good only because of books. They helped me in my writing,” he points out.
About his rapport with cinematographer-editor-director Garry BH, Anirudh Krishnamurthy says, “The writing made me closer to Garry, the editor. While I was doing promotional videos, we met during Ghazi (2017).”
The cast and crew of ‘Spy’ film. (Twitter)
Garry is now debuting as director with Spy. “Subhash Chandra Bose forms a subtle backstory of a Spy but is not directly linked to the film. Bose is what the character Jai (Nikhil) pursues. We have an interesting backdrop in the post-colonial era.”
He hastens to add: “We also went back a decade earlier, did research, and met the right minds, zeroed down on this particular part shown in the film. Undoubtedly, this is a thriller that fits into the espionage films genre. Jai has to discover and stop something.”
Asked more about the film, Anirudh Krishnamurthy explains, “There is a threat to the nation’s antagonist. Spy also envisages many things that we forgot and delves into history a little. Also, he is in search of something personal. Garry will kill me if I disclose more!”
The writer says it was quite an interesting journey to write a spy film, for the genre shows what a director is capable of.
“He cannot waste the time of an audience. There is a restriction on showing emotion within a time limit. There is music and a lot of room for a background score. It is definitely challenging to score it right, match the expectations of audiences and deliver an inch extra,” he points out.
Promotions are reaching their peak momentum 💫 @actor_Nikhil’s Most Anticipated and awaited Pan-Indian Movie #SPY Starts its Hunt in Highest Number of Theaters worldwide in all languages from June 29th ✨🤛
@Ishmenon @Garrybh88 @tej_uppalapati @anerudhp @SricharanPakala pic.twitter.com/jedKNjzKlD
— BA Raju’s Team (@baraju_SuperHit) June 20, 2023
About the people who changed the grammar of cinema of late, Anirudh Krishnamurthy says that a new set of people are coming into the industry. For instance, Deva Katta exploited the segment.
“2015-2016 was a good year for Telugu cinema because of Tharun Bhasckar, Prashanth Varma, Venkatesh Maha and Venki Atluri, Vivek Athreya, and Sandeep Reddy Vanga. They changed the grammar of Tollywood. They didn’t think within brackets but explored cinema. There was a shift in writing and the cut-to-song concept disappeared,” the young screenwriter observes.
Anirudh Krishnamurthy asserts that Artificial Intelligence (AI) would pose a serious threat to screenwriting in future. “It can process more data in comparison to the human brain. What takes hours for us can be finished in seconds by AI. It is a bit ahead of the human brain.”
Anirudh Krishnamurthy believes Artificial Intelligence would pose a threat to writers. (iStockphoto)
He further adds, “Not right away, but eventually, AI will turn into a threat. For example, it would take hours for us to edit a podcast. But a tool in Adobe does it in a jiffy. Hence, we writers, especially those penning espionage films should up their game!”
Asked what does he mean by upping the game?
Anirudh Krishnamurthy clarifies: “Writers should read a lot and break stereotypes. For instance, EVV Satyanarayana did comedy and so did Jandhyala. But each had their own personal touch that made them different. However, AI tools like ChatGPT processes thousands of different writers. It constantly analyses data. We miss out on the human element here.”
He points out, “If writers succumb to ChatGPT and it starts writing, the producers would give the AI tool an idea, tell it to get a script and ask the filmmaker to direct the same. Why hire a writer when ChatGPT consumes less time?”
“The writer takes time to zero down on an idea, but ChatGPT does it in minutes. It is a threat to people who blindly want to go for AI. Artificial intelligence is a tool to make our life simpler but not make us lazy. If we rub this line off, there is no room for human existence.” Anirudh Krishnamurthy signs off.
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