I can't analyse the secret of success. In my style of working, I stick to the basics and make stories revolving around the hero.
In childhood, we used to read stories from the Arabian Nights. Why were we so interested when it happened somewhere in Arabia, in a different culture? Until now, we hadn't gone to the Hindi audience with a good story.
I'm well aware that I have put my actors in difficult positions because of my vision, but when they see I work for the betterment of the product, they understand the pain I put them through.
I have huge respect for Sridevi ji as a flag-bearer of the southern film industries in Mumbai for many years. I wish her all the best. And I wish 'Mom' a big success, as the trailer looks very intriguing and promising.
No director can ever deliver what's on his or her mind totally, but 'Baahubali-2' is the closest I can get in executing what I had envisaged onto the celluloid.
The consolidated appreciation that 'Eega' is the pride of the Telugu film industry is the biggest award I can get.
I think - since I was about 7 years old - that was when I was first introduced to the comics called 'Amar Chitra Katha' that are published in India. They're not about a superhero, but they encompass all the stories of India, the folklore, the mythology, everything. But most of these stories are about Indian historical figures.
Indian epics are full of violence, and such stories have shaped India. As filmmakers, I don't think anyone in India would tone down violence, keeping in mind the censorship.
To be very frank, I never got very good offers from Hindi cinema until 'Eega.' Now, I'm flooded with offers.
If people get inspired by 'Baahubali' as a film, and they realize they can make a big film or a historical film which has good drama and good visuals, if they realize there are good stories to tell here, then it is good.
Rajinikanth is humility personified. He's a huge star in India, and people are dying to just see him on the screen.
If someone makes an inroad into a new territory, a new market, people will follow their success. That way, I think we will be getting more pan-India films and not restricted to a region or a language. More and more films will come out on a bigger budget, on a larger-than-life scale.
When I was in Mumbai for the promotion of 'Makkhi,' I met Ajay Devgn, Kajol, and Shah Rukh Khan, and I wanted to meet Aamir Khan. He was shooting out of India. I also met my favourite director, Raju Hirani. All of them showered praises on 'Makkhi.'
'Mayabazar' was the film I immensely loved as a kid. Only when I became a filmmaker about 20 years later did I realise its technical marvel and what a great epic it was. I and my visual effects supervisor, while making 'Yamadonga,' took two days to understand the magnification shot of Ghatothkatcha's persona.
I don't believe in luck. Everything is our doing or undoing. If something doesn't come out right, then as a director, you have to take full responsibility. You can't just say, 'No, I gave this job to the music supervisor. They promised me they would do it, and they didn't do it.' You can't blame anyone else.
