Why My Dad Can’t Write Arjun Reddy

Why My Dad Can’t Write Arjun Reddy

Today’s audience wants to be represented and included in the stories that are in the public sphere. And if Balayya’s superhuman antics don’t work, neither do my dad’s stories.

There’s something to be said for the way that the Telugu film industry underwent a freefall, but managed to land on its feet. We’ve come from inglorious times of big-budget Balayya starrers, to creditable times of content-driven films. The audience is clearly tired of having its intelligence insulted, and is ready to be challenged and included in important conversations. As an avid member of this audience, I can only attest that this remarkable change is a duly welcome one. Looking back, I wonder when this change started to happen. Was it fueled by the viewers’ demands or the creators’ visions? In the case of Arjun Reddy— the film that I believe catalyzed this change— it appears to be both. The audience didn’t know they demanded the film until Sandeep Reddy Vanga nonchalantly provided it.

 To me, the merit of Arjun Reddy is beyond just what can be seen on the periphery. The insanely good looking actor, the language, the drugs, the sex, the swearing, the background: all of these simply seem to be tools to bring out a realistic picture of a character’s internal dilemma. And what a dilemma it is. Arjun, our poor little rich boy, can’t seem to reconcile with the fact that he has different rules for himself and the world around him. He says women shouldn’t be objectified but treats Preeti like an object, he gives her a few hours to convince her father but disappears in the meantime, he revels in the greatness of his love story but can’t be appreciative of his friend’s wedding. These are just a few examples, but the point remains that Arjun doesn’t understand his rules, and therefore acts like he has none. He’s angry with everyone around him and, more than anyone else, with himself. Sure, it took a few catalysts (his family, his education, his relationship) to bring out this dialectical tension but I contend that it’s always been there. It’s what explain his addiction to substances and to Preeti.

 This is how I explained my understanding of the film to my dad, Akkiraju Bhattiprolu, when he asked me whether or not I thought he could write Arjun Reddy. My answer to that question is a resolute ‘no.’

 My dad’s work (his collection of short stories, ‘Moodu Beerla Taravata’) and Arjun Reddy are similar to the extent that they both center around characters that have irreconcilable dilemmas. Whether it’s Nandini (from Nandini), Moorthy (from Jandhyam), or Satish (from Gated Community), they all have issues from past experiences that inhibit their future ones. They’re all straggling to build new worlds because they feel like their stuck in old ones. I hate to generalize characters like this, but I feel like these similarities stare you in the face— maybe literally for me because, truth be told, my dad is one of these characters. And that right there is the difference. I see my dad in each and every one of the characters he writes. If not his direct persona, he makes sure to include a persona he deeply empathizes with. I’ve always believed this to be his greatest strength: he pours himself into his characters, and by association, his stories.

 Even though one can argue that Arjun Reddy is deeply rooted in Sandeep Reddy Vanga himself, he dissociates enough to be relatable. Arjun makes so many mistakes, but he owns all of them. He has sole agency in all his actions, even though they’re predominantly immature ones. This makes Arjun the master of his own story and the dilemma he faces is his own. This is what the current youth is like. We’re assertive about our decisions, even when they’re the wrong ones. My dad’s stories, on the other hand, have characters that are weighed down by the world around them. Their dilemmas are external facing solely because they move beyond just themselves. They’re less selfish, but also less sorted.

 I can give my dad credit for the fact that he can write a beautiful character with internal tensions, but he can’t write a character that’s relatable enough to power the likes of Arjun Reddy. Maybe his characters were relatable in his own time when they set out to solve problems that were more sophisticated and layered. Today, problems are out there and the ones who solve them do so with aggression fueled by their own issues. This is seen in stories like Gully Boy, Falaknuma Das, Pellichoopulu, Tamasha and many more. Today’s audience wants to be represented and included in the stories that are in the public sphere. And if Balayya’s superhuman antics don’t work, neither do my dad’s stories.

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Bhavana Bhattiprolu

9 comments

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  • Impressive insight into Arjun Reddy – the only voice that I came across that looks at the story as a work of fiction – all other critiques that i read were all nothing more than a meaningless analysis of “what it meant to me”.

    i still remember both of us watching “pursuit of happiness” – and i was quite impressed that night, especially the way you were able to get to the ‘aesthetic’ elements and structure.

    truth be told, my dad is one of these characters.
    you too Brutus!! that is the most unkindest cut of all 🙂 🙂

    “..this dialectical tension”
    arjun’s tensions are not dialectical tensions – they are non-rational, whereas akkiraju’s characters show dialectical tensions.

    “they set out to solve problems that were more sophisticated and layered.”
    no, i won’t give that credit to akkiraju. his characters, and the stories were neither sophisticated, nor layered – they are nuanced for sure, but not layered, and the stories lack sophistication – they are pretty linear, and straight forward. they tell their story through lengthy dialogues (i haven’t read his recent ones, only upto jandhyam). so, i could be wrong.

    keep writing, my dear.

    • and,
      akki’s stories are all centred around an incident (or an issue). this is, in general, true of the telugu short story – they are all (well, most of them) ‘incidental’ in nature, and the author tries to ‘imprint’ something much larger telelogically (the immature ones try for a grand finale). for some reason, this has become the defacto format of telugu story (and by extension, the telugu movie – most telugu movies are nothing more than a 10min short story – the good ones extend along the edges, and the routine ones ‘stuff masala’ in the middle – so, they bulge like masala dosa, or in yesteryear movies, like the hero’s waistline 🙂

      if you haven’t already, watch Thin RedLine – a movie that completely disregards the ‘incidents’ that are happening around.

  • I am not sure how old the author is, but her insightful analysis about a few things are quite impressive. She appears to be a promising writer too! Keep going Bhavana! Looking forward to reading more from you.

  • I found the argument of the article intriguing and problematic. If the director of Arjun Reddy were asked to write story like “Gated community,” could he be able to do that? I think that he is not capable of that. But, this short perfectly engages with existential and moral dilemmas of a generation. Those are very real and pertinent to number of individuals of this society. While Arjun Reddy celebrates hedonistic individualism, Gated community articulates the difficult dilemma of choosing individual comfort at the cost of meaningful human relationships. So, these two art-forms have their resonance to two different sections of audience.

  • Made me read your article very interestingly. Significant views are expressed about the movie. Very clear and distinct. Keep writing . All the best. Hope to see more from you.

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