Renowned Telugu filmmaker and National Film Award winner Sekhar Kammula delivered the 11th annual Dr. C.V.S. Sarma Memorial lecture organized by Department of Communication, University of Hyderabad on Friday, August 7, 2018 at the School of Humanities Auditorium. The lecture series is organized to honour the memory of Dr. C.V.S. Sarma, one of the first faculty members of the Department of Communication who played an important role in laying the groundwork for the department.
Mr. Kammula, famous for directing hugely successful Telugu movies like Fidaa and Happy Days, delivered the lecture on the topic “Metamorphosis of Trends in South Indian Cinema”. Drawing from his experience as a fine arts student at Howard University, he referred to two manners in which metamorphosis can be observed in cinema; how cinema can bring change and disrupt social norms, and the changes happening within the cinema industry itself. As a firm believer in the transformative qualities of movies, he said that films should be obligated to the society.
Speaking further on the theme of metamorphosis, he discussed how elements like finances, stories, and characterisation within films have changed over time by bringing in examples from his own movies like Godavari, and other movies like Kaala and Arjun Reddy. Praising Hollywood’s role in bringing innovation in the aspects of scriptwriting, cinematic technologies and techniques, he said that Indian film industries have built up on this work but have not come up with any new innovations of their own. He also offered advice to budding filmmakers by underlining the importance of having a passion for filmmaking along with strong conviction in their scripts.
The lecture ended with a Q&A section where Mr. Kammula answered questions from students and alumni of the Department of Communication.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER- Sekhar Kammula is a film director, screenwriter, and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema. A Master of Fine Arts holder from Howard University, USA, he won the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director for his debut movie Dollar Dreams (2000). He has won two Filmfare Awards South and six state Nandi Awards for his work. He was among the directors’ delegation who represented Indian cinema at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
Listen to the complete lecture at https://www.facebook.com/departmentofcommunication/videos/232892744237791/?t=9
Pictures of the event can be downloaded at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10155637065866053&type=1&l=309cede95c
-R Sidharth, Department of Communication