HYDERABAD: Hussain Sha Kiran became a household name in the Telugu industry even before his first film released. It was his contribution to Nannaku Prematho that gave him a good break. His directorial debut Meeku Meere Maaku Meme (M2M2) hit screens recently. As we meet him at Mocha Banjara Hills for a conversation, he’s flooded with calls from friends and relatives enquiring about the performance of his latest release.
The Sukumar meeting
The man reveals it was only a chance that his visit to Sukumar led to work on the director’s Nannaku Prematho. Meeku Meere Maaku Meme He vividly remembers the day he went to meet Sukumar him for help with the lyrics of Meeku Meere Maaku Meme when its production work began. It was also at the time when Jr NTR’s 25 film was being finalised with the maker. “I just narrated him one line that involved the interval and the climax block in the process. He liked it very much and went on to visualise the rest of the film. It was as good as meeting him for two hours,” he reveals.
Diverse careers
His journey has been an interesting one. After finishing his engineering in Bhimavaram, he did MBA via correspondence in IIM, Calcutta, specialising in Marketing. After working in a gaming firm, his ability to narrate stories brought him to movies. Short films gave him the path and the confidence to go ahead. He recollects, “Even when I was under 10, I used to tell a lot of stories to my friends and parents. Whenever I brought in film characters to narrate them, there was a jump in the interest levels. That’s when I realised the power and the reach of the medium.”
He is happy to have met the right persons to guide him in the industry initially, particularly Sukumar and Allu Aravind. The reason to debut with a simple film ( M2M2 ) was to ensure a familiar backdrop. The screenplay was a collective effort of his team, mostly common friends from his previous workplace and his short-film team. “Working with a limited budget in fact widened our creative sphere,” he says.
He particularly mentions Bharan’s help who was involved in every production aspect and even stepped in to act in the last minute, when an actor backed out. Praising his team, he gives us an instance where they had to ready the gaming atmosphere for the lead characters in a day’s span.
Hussain is clear on how M2M2 could have been better, he knew it was the lack of emotional connect As he was trying to ensure the film stayed positive and lively. His next, backed by a major production house featuring a young actor, is a thriller, a genre where he feels home and safe. This time the financial challenges are lesser. “But each film comes with its own set of challenges,” he shares.
