My detractors almost wrote me off: Teja

After a few duds like ‘1000 Abbadalu’ and ‘Hora Hori’, seasoned director Teja claims that his detractors almost wrote him off. “It was true that I couldn’t deliver a hit for quite some time, but it doesn’t mean that I am down and out,” says the director, who realised that he needed just one good script to bounce back in the reckoning. “I don’t easily get excited with regular story ideas, as I believe that cinema is about realistic and hard-hitting themes.

Matching up to it, I penned this exciting story of a youngster who takes cudgels against political system after an incident in his life,” he adds. He also describes it as a ‘commoner’s viewpoint’ which he has imbibed in the story. “Many people will connect to these situations and that’s what I like to make and my characters and script are rooted.

Instead of making superficial films and rip-offs of Hollywood and Korean movies, I would like to walk my own way,’ he adds. Working with Rana has been interesting, “I have mostly worked with newcomers, so working with Rana has been interesting and he is very adept in learning new things,’ he concludes.