Dil Se : A whiz kid focused on new-age films

Be it through his Ala Vaikunthapuramlo and Agnathavasi or winning a national award with a small-budget film like DJ Tillu, young producer of Tollywood Suryadevara Naga Vamsi’s body of work has proved to be a roaring success.He is still climbing the ladder of success steadily. Known for making new-age films that anyone can related to, Naga Vamsi has made his mark in the industry with films like Bheemla Nayak, Premam, Rang De, Shailaja Reddy Alludu and Jersey, among others.Having worked his way up under the wings of his uncle Suryadevara Radha Krishna, also known as ChinnaBabu, and director Trivikram, there seems to be no stopping for this filmi whiz kid. In an exclusive interview with The Pioneer’s K Ramya Sree, the producer talks about his shift from IT to movies, family, interests and more.  

Childhood…

I was born in Vijayawada. My father is a central government employee.He used to work for Air India. After the airport was removed in Vijayawada, for a while we shifted to Bengaluru. Later, since my entire family lived in Hyderabad, we moved to this city. I studied in Hyderabad and completed engineering. After graduation, I started working for a Pune-based company.

A dangerous kid…

As a kid, I was never calm. I have been what they call ‘very dangerous’ since childhood. I used to play a lot of cricket. I played for leagues and even now I have a team with whom I play cricket. I would get into trouble every now and then and my father used to visit my college quite often.Towards the end of my engineering course, I made financial blunders. I had faced many lows in my life before I got
into job.

The guiding force…

Babai has always been a guiding force for me. You see my name as a producer, but he is behind everything I do. He is more like a friend to me with whom I can share anything. The bond has been like that since day 1.There have been days when we were forced to shelveprojects because babai didnot like them despite me taking them up with him.

Chaos during DJ Tillu 2…

The director of DJ Tillu wanted to make another film between DJ Tillu and DJ Tillu 2, but since the sequel trend is going on and we didnot want to waste any time and finish DJ Tillu 2 first; we thought we will do it with another director.

Fanboy moment…

Tabu garu was my childhood crush. Ever since I watched her in Ninne Pelladatha, I fell in love with her. I got very excited when Trivikram sir told me that we are casting Tabu in Ala Vaikuntapuramlo. I had my fan boy moment on the sets then. I still remember the first shot with her in the hospital sets. It’s a very memorable moment for us. I spoke to her to tell her about the film.

Rapport with Trivikram…

We make only big films with Trivikram sir, because we have that equation with him. When we make films in Sitara, the making procedure is different. If I clear the script, it goes to babai and then to Trivik sir. Generally, we discuss which heroine to cast, the remaining cast; director gives out some options, and we choose from them based on our budget. Major mantra Trivik sir taught us is to discuss and sort out things before the film goes on to the sets. Once the film is on sets, we donot get involved in the director’s work.

Foray into movies…

My mom is a housewife. My father retired recently and is leading a relaxed life now. I am very close to my mom. I had a very chilled upbringing. During the early 2000’s, everyone’s plan was to finish engineering and go to the US for a job; so, even I wanted to work in the US.That was the plan. Getting into films was never planned unless you came from an established filmi family. Yes, we have now set a platform for our children.

Back then, it was never planned. It was my babai (uncle, Chinna Babu) who was passionate about films, and I eventually learned the ropes under him. My foray into industry was very easy.The set-up was already there, and it was easy for me to get other films. I never wanted to become a hero.

Floating Haarika and Hassine banner…

Babai was planning a big-budget film with Trivik sir and Julai happened. After Julai, we decided to make our own films and the pre-production works of Son of Satyamurthi were on. During that time, director Maruthi met babai and told him that he wanted to make a small-budget film. It was only for that film that we started Haarika and HassineCreations. Then babai called me and told me he was starting another banner in my name, and I have taken it over. Since then, we have been doing small budget films.

Short takes:

How do you describe yourself? Sensible

What do you do during free time? When I get free time, I play a lot of poker with my friends and cricket.

Felt like dating any heroine? I have not dated any heroine and I want to date one now.

Are you a party person? I am not much of a party person, I do not like loud music and stuff. I do not drink or smoke either.

Are you a believer? I am a strong believer in God. I go to temple four times a week.

Are you a foodie? I was a big foodie, and I was about 104 kilos even during Covid.

Since I was afflicted with Covid, these days I am maintaining a strict diet regime. I have cut down my weight.

Favourite food? Chicken and biryani

Favourite colour? Black

Favourite film/s? Ala Vaikuntapuramlo, Sakhi

Favourite actor? Jr NTR

An actor you wish to work with: Ram Charan and Prabhas.

What’s your driving force? The zeal to earn money and be on the top.

Have you ever imagined you would be this successful at such a young age?

Never in my wildest dreams. Many people in fact told me to be careful as I tasted big success at a young age which is not an easy thing as I still have a lot of years in the industry.

Did you expect to win a national award for Jersey? Since we heard the story, Nani and I decided to make it on a grand scale. If not awards, we knew we would get good name and fame for the film.

Most eccentric rumour you heard about yourself? That I was dating some heroine.

What keeps you grounded? Looking at how my babai is.

Reason behind naming your production houses? In Telugu we called it Cine Tara Rangam and in short we made it Sitara.Haarika and Hassine are my sisters (my babai’s daughters). I have a younger brother too.