V Vijayendra Prasad, the famed screenwriter of epic films like Baahubali, RRR, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Magadheera, spoke about his storytelling process at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI). He conducted a masterclass on the theme ‘The Master’s writing process’ on the second day of the nine-day-long festival. Prasad said, “I don’t write stories, I steal stories. Stories are there around you, be it epics like Mahabharat, Ramayan, or real-life incidences, there are stories everywhere. You need to represent it in your unique style.”
“The pursuit to create hunger among the audience for your story kicks off creativity within you. 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,” he added.
Elaborating on his style of screenwriting, Prasad said, “I always think of a twist at the interval and organize 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.”
Recalling his experience of writing for the blockbusters like Baahubali and RRR, Prasad said, “I don’t write, I dictate stories. I have everything in my mind; the flow of the story, the characters, the twists.”
V Vijayendra Prasad is the father of SS Rajamouli, the director of Baahubali and RRR. Rajamouli had said recently that his father is working on the sequel of RRR. During a screening in Chicago, when asked if there would be an RRR 2, Rajamouli said, “I would absolutely love to. I can’t reveal many details about it but my father, who has been a screenwriter for all my films including RRR… We discussed a bit about it, and he is working on the story.”
The opening ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was held in Goa on Sunday with several Bollywood stars in attendance including Ajay Devgn, Kartik Aaryan, Varun Dhawan, Sara Ali Khan, Paresh Rawal, and Suniel Shetty. In keeping with the spirit of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations, the theme of the opening ceremony was “Evolution of Indian Cinema in the last 100 years”.
