Gowtam Tinnanuri

Some Lesser Known Facts About Gowtam Tinnanuri

• Gowtam Tinnanuri is an Indian film writer and director who is predominantly known for his work in Telugu film industry.

• Before joining the film business, the Jersey director worked for Deloitte, an IT based company, for eight years. He got into directing and screenplay writing when one of his friends advised him to create the narrative and lines for a film he was working on. When their picture was in post-production, he quit his job. During an interview, when asked about his prior life before entering the film industry, he said,
  

  Actually one of the reasons I quit IT was because a friend of mine wanted to direct. I wrote the story and dialogues for it. The post production of the film went for a year in Chennai but never released due to financial issues. I was in Chennai during that year and since I was looking after the post production I learnt about edit, mixing, DI etc.”

• Malli Rava was his debut feature, which was released in 2017. Malli Rava is an Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film starring Sumanth and Aakanksha Singh. The film showcases a love story between Karthik and Anjali whose paths cross during three different stages of their lives. Gowtam Tinnanuri had no industry ties and had never worked or assisted a film director. He took his time writing Malli Raava’s script before approaching the film’s producer Rahul through a friend. Gowtam Tinnanuri never looked back after the film was a moderate success.
  

  I was totally clueless about what was going to happen because I had no prior experience. I felt I had a good story, I narrated, the producer liked it and decided to make it. It all happened pretty quickly. Even days before the films’ release I was totally blank; I didn’t know what to expect. If you say something in a gathering of 20 people maybe five won’t like it. Imagine going to lakhs of people and expecting them to unanimously like something. It is an enormous task. And on the first day the market was slow so I thought I had to learn a lot more to reach a larger audience. But by the end of the first day it picked up. Then I felt confident that there is some section of audience that I can communicate to.”

• Jersey, which was a box office success, was released in April 2019. In the Jersey film, Nani, Shradha Srinath, and Sathyaraj played the key roles. His film Jersey was favourably accepted by the public and many celebrities. This film received a lot of positive feedback after its premieres. He has various projects on which he is currently working. Filmmaking, he claims, is a responsibility because everyone has a stake in it. Before penning Jersey, a sports drama, he said he had done enough homework. He stated that he would take a brief vacation before beginning his next endeavour to spend time with his family and friends. During an interview, when asked about it experience on working with Nani, the south Indian megastar, he shared,
  

  It was a fantastic experience to work with everyone in the film. I never even met Nani before Malli Raava. Once I saw him shooting as I drove past. The second time I saw him was when I narrated a script to him. For me the most important thing is to be in sync with someone, they should be able to understand the ideas I’m trying to communicate. I found that in the first meeting itself with Nani. But I couldn’t decipher whether he liked the story based on his expressions; he looked totally blank during the narration. When I stopped the narration after the first half, he asked me if the second half would be equally good. That’s when I realised he actually liked the story.”

• Many people likened his debut picture, Majili, to Jersey, claiming that the two films appeared to be quite similar, casting doubt on his direction. He did not respond to the criticism, but during a press conference, he advised people to watch Jersey before making such claims. He claims that while the two films are both about athletics, their plot lines are diametrically opposed.

• In 2022, the sequel of his superhit film Jersey will be released in Hindi featuring Shahid Kapoor. When asked about his concern by parallels between Shahid and Nani, the original Jersey’s hero, he said,
  

  Yes, I know in Tollywood the fans believe in hero-worshipping. But when they watch the film, they will understand what I’m saying. It’s a different version of what we already have. Nani is one of the finest actors, and so is Shahid. They have their own ways of approaching their characters, Shahid is a very professional actor. And it was wonderful working with him,”

• Gowtam Tinnanuri has revealed a big project with south star Ram Charan. Announcing the film, he said,
  There is one film that I have already announced, which is with Ram Charan. It’s going to be a pan India film. In fact, bigger than that. Only Ram Charan is working with us. We have yet not finalised the casting. It’s in the process. All I can say is it’s an action film,