Ravi Kiran Kola: Characters in ‘Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam’ are flawed, realistic

Ravi Kiran Kola, the writer and showrunner of ‘Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam’ is all for realistic, entertaining stories

Ravi Kiran Kola’s left forearm bears an ambigram tattoo ‘Director’ (the font allows it to be read in two directions). He got inked even before he debuted as a writer and director with the Telugu film Raja Vaaru Rani Gaaru ( RVRG, 2019). Back then, he had written his final B.Tech exams and arrived in Hyderabad from East Godavari, determined to make it in the film industry. Now in his fifth year in Hyderabad, he is basking in the feedback for Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam, which was released on Friday.

Ravi has penned the story, screenplay and dialogues and was also the showrunner of the film, while his friend Vidya Sagar Chinta, who was the cinematographer for RVRG, directed it. Ravi elaborates: “The concept of a showrunner is new to Telugu cinema, though a few Telugu web series have explored it. A showrunner envisions and oversees every aspect of a project, while the director executes it. It turned out to be more time consuming than directing.”

Asked why he did not direct the film, Ravi says he has been working on an ambitious political drama and wanted to devote more time to that

His debut film was an ode to his village Bhadravaram and surrounding areas in Yeleswaram mandal, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. Ashoka Vanam… is also set in East Godavari and pits a family from the region with another family from Suryapet, Telangana: “I am conscious that all my stories should not originate from East Godavari; I do not want to get slotted. However, I tend to get many story ideas from that region.”

Ever since the film’s release, Ravi has been receiving calls from his native town, with people stating that they could see parts of themselves in the supporting characters in the family drama.

The idea of Ashoka Vanam… emerged during the first lockdown when Ravi came across a news article about a family from Odisha that arrived in Andhra Pradesh for a wedding and had to extend their stay as the lockdown was imposed. “I wondered what would happen if two families, one from Telangana and one from Andhra Pradesh, were caught in such a situation. The main story is about Arjun (Vishwak Sen) and the two female leads Rukshar Dhillon and Ritika Nayak.”

The idea of the protagonist being 30+, single and under pressure to get married, came from observing people known to him. One of Ravi’s friends who was earlier tasked to direct the film went through a similar situation, with his family insisting that he get married without delay and give up the opportunity of direction: “I could not understand why they thought directing a film would hinder his marriage plans. He turned 30 and his family was particular that his wedding should not be delayed. I was angry and channelled some of that in the dialogues.”