Ahead of the theatrical release of EPIC – FIRST SEMESTER on September 11, director Aditya Hasan is excited for the Anand Deverakonda-Vaishnavi Chaitanya duo and his slice-of-life romantic family entertainer with them. The film, produced by S Naga Vamsi's Sithara Entertainments, is not just about meet-cutes, sweet-nothings and the pleasures a live-in relationship brings, but also about coming of age. In this interview, Aditya shares its highlights.
My birth name is Aditya. Since I am a huge fan of Kamal Haasan, I used his surname out of my immense admiration for his talent. Raised in Wanaparthy by a schoolteacher father and homemaker mother, I moved to Hyderabad for a degree and later earned a Master’s in the UK, where I met filmmaker Naveen Medaram. Despite having no experience as an assistant director, my passion for cinema led me to direct short films. Upon returning to India, I began directing Teacher, starring Colors Swathi, though the project was stalled. I wrote the dialogue for the Telugu-dubbed version of Premalu.
When I started writing EPIC, people around me advised me not to write a love story because, as per them, love stories are passe. I did turn skeptical at a point. That's when Premalu happened. SS Karthikeya asked me to watch Premalu with SS Rajamouli garu. Since I respect him a great deal, I accepted the offer to write the Telugu dialogues. When he appreciated me on the dais, my father told me he was proud of me. That was a first. I made up my mind to go ahead with EPIC.
I wrote '90s - A Middle-Class Biopic (the popular web series) based on my father’s life experiences. Although an initial OTT platform backed out after six months, ETV Win eventually picked up the story and brought it to life. Coming to EPIC, while inspired by real-life incidents, it takes cinematic liberties rather than depicting my exact life. Just like in '90s, where we used my hometown and family members' names while weaving together stories from various lives, EPIC builds on that same world. It focuses on the younger brother's phase of life, though I plan to explore the elder brother's and sister's stories in future chapters. If I am making a movie whose protagonist is a blind man, I can't just write random scenes. I have to observe blind people, try to empathize and sympathize with them, imagine myself in their shoes. That way, my movies are of course inspired by my experiences.
EPIC – FIRST SEMESTER continues into EPIC – FINAL SEMESTER. The first part features a unique ending written entirely according to what the story demanded, rather than the expectations of the audience. I initially felt pressure, but EPIC offers a fresh experience that subverts expectations around the lead pair. I personally chose Anand for the lead role, while producer Naga Vamsi suggested Vaishnavi, believing that reuniting the Baby pair would boost commercial appeal. Seeing the film's current hype, I realize he was completely right.
While not an extraordinary premise, EPIC follows a young man who travels from Hyderabad to the UK and falls in love. Their ultimate fate forms the core mystery. Grounded in my own time studying in the UK, the film captures the rarely explored relationships of students abroad with the same natural feel as my web debut. It offers memorable, fresh moments for the audience.
It's a coming-of-age movie where Anand's character is into funny one-liners but his personality is serious.
Everyone can relate to the movie and its characters. But the specific jargon will be extremely relatable to those who have lived abroad to study and work. As for the romantic scenes, they are sincere. I don't see intimacy as a topic to be avoided. EPIC does feature romance, but there is also a strong emotional undercurrent balancing it. The romance feels real, not forced. It's authentic and natural. It's not extreme. In the entire run-time, intimate scenes are just five minutes long. Even the middle-aged audience (parents) will feel okay about them by the end of the film.
Producer Naga Vamsi believed in me after watching '90s and gave me this opportunity, personally supervising every detail, including bringing Hesham Abdul Wahab on board as music director. As a lifelong admirer of Gorati Venkanna, whose songs I listened to even while studying in London, I always wanted his work in my feature debut. I approached him for EPIC, and he wrote and sang Sanchaarame, which we chose to kick off our promotions.
I aim to explore diverse genres while entertaining audiences through meaningful cinema made without agendas or intent to offend. I believe in spending positivity through my films, which ideally shouldn't have negative characters. I have received calls from stars, but my kind of writing is bereft of heroic moments.
