Watch | Director Gowtam Tinnanuri: The ‘Jersey’ you saw on screen was the ninth or 10th draft

Gowtam Tinnanuri reflects on ‘Malli Raava’, Nani-starrer ‘Jersey’ and its Hindi remake with Shahid Kapoor as he works on his next with Vijay Deverakonda

Gowtam Tinnanuri is among those filmmakers who would be happy to stay away from the spotlight, quietly working at his desk while writing or behind the camera on a movie set. “I have directed only two films, and one remake. I do not know enough to talk about filmmaking,” he says hesitantly when the conversation begins. Those two films — the coming-of-age Telugu romance drama Malli Raava and the sports family drama Jersey— continue to be fondly recalled by movie buffs. As the conversation progresses, the director opens up to share his journey into cinema and how he embraced both writing and direction.

Edited excerpts from the conversation:

Edited excerpts from the conversation:

You usually shy away from interviews. Is it because you are an introvert or do you prefer to lie low when there is no film release? 

It is a bit of both. If it is a film promotion the conversation is contextual. If it is a larger conversation about cinema I feel inferior to come in front of the camera and talking. My exposure to cinema is limited; there are more informative interviews out there featuring directors such as Ram Gopal Varma or Puri Jagannadh. 

When your new film with Vijay Deverakonda was announced, it created a buzz on social media. What can you tell us about the film?

I am happy that people are looking forward to the film and hope it will be worthy of that excitement. Anything I say about the film will be diluted since we haven’t released any content so far.