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Baahubali writer V Vijayendra Prasad IFFI

Baahubali Writer V Vijayendra At IFFI: I Don’t Write Stories, I Steal Them

By LokMarg 22nd November 2022

Renowned film-maker and screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad, who is known for his projects like Baahubali, RRR, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Magadheera, was among the personalities from the Indian film industry who received honours during the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

In addition, he held a workshop on the margins of the event titled “The Master’s Writing Process.” In the workshop, he spoke with aspiring filmmakers and offered tips on how he writes for movies.
Talking about how he started his journey, he said, “I did everything possible to earn a living including agriculture before becoming a writer. The writing came much later in life.”

Talking about keeping the audience in mind while writing, the writer said, “I always try to create a hunger within the audience for my story and characters and that drives me to create something unique and appealing”.

While talking about his screenwriting style, Shri Prasad said, he always thinks of a twist at the interval and organizes the story accordingly. “You have to create something out of nothing. You have to present a lie, which looks like the truth. A person who can tell a good lie can be a good storyteller”, he added.

“I don’t write stories, I steal them. Stories are there around you, be it epics like Mahabharat, Ramayan, or real-life incidents, there are stories everywhere. You need to represent it in your unique style,” said V Vijayendra Prasad during his workshop session.

Responding to the query of a budding story writer, the ace storyteller said, one has to open up his or her mind and absorb everything. “You need to be your own harshest critic, then only your best will come out and you can take your work to unscalable heights”, he asserted.

Sharing his experience of writing for the blockbusters like Baahubali and RRR, Shri Prasad said, “I don’t write, I dictate stories. I have everything in my mind; the flow of the story, the characters, the twists”. He said, one good writer should cater to the needs of the Director, Producer, Primary Protagonist, and Audience.

Vijayendra Prasad is currently working on the story for the sequel to the global blockbuster ‘RRR’.

Several Bollywood celebrities, including Ajay Devgn, Kartik Aaryan, Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal, and Suniel Shetty, attended the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) opening ceremony held on Sunday in Goa. The opening ceremony’s theme, “Evolution of Indian Cinema in the Last 100 Years,” reflected the spirit of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations. (ANI)

Receiving Bollywood Offers Post Kantara: Rishab Shetty

By LokMarg 5th November 2022

Kannada actor and director Rishab Shetty recently opened up about making his Bollywood debut after the grand success of his recently released action thriller ‘Kantara’.

Rishab in an exclusive interview with ANI said, “I got offers from Bollywood filmmakers but right now I want to make films in Kannada only. I adore Mr. Bachchan, I really like him and even in the younger generations actors like Shahid Kapoor or Salman Bhai and many more I like each one of them.”
Helmed by Rishab Shetty ‘Kantara’ was released on September 30 and gathered a massive response from the audience for its storyline and amazing visuals.

Recently, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and south actor Rajinikanth praised Rishab Shetty for his film.

According to trade expert Taran Adarsh, the film has minted over Rs 50 crore in the Hindi market after the third week of its release and has already crossed the lifetime collection of actor Yash’s ‘KGF: Chapter 1.’

Talking about the sequel of the film ‘Kantara’, Rishab told ANI, ” I haven’t thought about it yet. So let’s see if such a day comes then we will announce it.”

After the massive response, fans on social media started the #KantaraForOscars trend and demanded that the film has to be considered for the Academy Awards.

Produced by Hombale Films ‘Kantara’ starred Rishab Shetty, Pramod Shetty, Achyuth Kumar, Sapthami Gowda and south actor Kishore in the lead roles.

In the past couple of years, many south Indian films like ‘Baahubali’, ‘KGF’, ‘Pushpa’, ‘Karthikeya 2’ and now ‘Kantara’ got a worldwide appreciation for their amazing content.

Set in the fictional village of Dakshina Kannada, Kantara follows the character of Shetty who is playing a Kambala champion who has a faceoff with an upright Forest Range officer. (ANI)

Dussehra Rally: Uddhav Takes A Dig At Shinde, Calls Him ‘Katappa’

By LokMarg 5th October 2022

On the occasion of Dussehra, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday took pot shots at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and said the people who were given responsibility became ‘Katappa’ to betray the party.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction performed ‘Raavan Dahan’ at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, the traditional venue for the party’s Dussehra celebration since its inception in 1966.

The Shiv Sena chief said, “As per our yearly tradition, there will be a ‘Ravana Dahan’ ceremony, but the Ravana of this year is different. With time, Ravana also changes… He used to be 10-headed till now. But, how many heads does he have now? He is 50 times more betraying.”

Referring to the famous character ‘Katappa’ of the film Baahubali, the former Maharashtra CM said those who were given all the benefits, betrayed Shiv Sena.

“Those whom we gave everything have betrayed us and those who were not given anything, are all together. This Sena is not of one or two but of all of you. As long as you are with me, I will be the leader of the party. The only thing I feel bad and angry about is that when I was admitted to the hospital, the people whom I gave the responsibility (of the state) became ‘Katappa’ and betrayed us… They were cutting me and thinking that I will never return from the hospital,” added Thackeray.

Maharashtra has been witnessing a tussle between both the factions of Sena as to who is the real inheritor of the legacy of Bal Thackeray.

Using Dussehra as an opportunity to attack the opponent, both the factions of Sena, who are at loggerheads since the split in June, are holding rallies billed as a show of strength. For the first time, people of the state are weighing both factions of Shiv Sena.

Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde leveled allegations against each other. Two parallel Dussehra rallies, one at the traditional Shivaji Park and the other at MMRDA grounds articulated as a competition of show of strength between the rival factions.

Uddhav questioned, “What about giving strength to women’s power or women’s rights when it came to Ankita Bhandari Uttarakhand murder case, which as per news reports, happened at a BJP leader’s resort.”

He then went ahead to challenge the Shinde faction to come on one stage and speak about Hindutva without taking the script from BJP.

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and leaders from his faction attended the Shiv Sena Dussehra rally on MMRDA ground. Shinde also gave a tribute to Balasaheb Thackeray’s chair. ‘Shashtr pooja’ was performed on the 51 feet sword for which a Mahant was called from Ayodha in Uttar Pradesh.

Notably, Balasaheb Thackeray’s son Jaidev Thackeray came to show his support and shared the stage with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde during the Dussehra rally at Mumbai’s MMRDA ground.

Addressing the crowd, Shinde hit back at Thackeray and said, “They call me ‘Katappa’. I want to tell you, that even ‘Katappa’ had self-respect and was not double standard like you. This is not your (Uddhav Thackeray) private Limited company. The Shiv Sena is of shiv-sainiks who have given their sweat for it. Not for people like you, who did partnerships and sold it.”

Shinde lambasted his former party leader, Uddhav Thackeray, over the alliance with Congress and called him a traitor. “Balasaheb Thackeray made an alliance with BJP. You did gaddari, we are not gaddar. You have committed a sin… Go apologies to Balasaheb samadhi at Shivaji park”.

Shinde further lauded his governance and said that while Uddhav Thackeray betrayed the people of Maharashtra and sold the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray, he has brought about a revolution. “You point at us for stealing your father but you have sold your father and the packed ground here is an example of it,” he said.

Shiv Sena’s Shinde faction leader Ramdas Kadam called out Uddhav Thackeray saying, “Even your brother, cousins or Raj Thackeray are not with you Uddhav Ji, if you cannot even keep your family intact, how will you keep the state intact?”

Eknath Shinde took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on June 30 earlier this year. This came after a faction of Shiv Sena under Shinde shifted the alliance to Bharatiya Janata Party BJP from MVA. (ANI)