Santosh Srinivas: Ram has matured as an actor

Santosh Srinivas has a hit (Kandireega) and a flop (Rabhasa) in his kitty. A day ahead of the release of ‘Hyper’, the cinematographer turned director is calm and says that the result doesn’t concern him much.  
 
‘Hyper’ has been touted as a father-son relationship story in addition to other things.  Why so much emphasis on the sentiment part?
 
Because family emotions are important to me.  Since the days of ‘Gundamma Katha’ to ‘Attarintiki Daredi’ and ‘Srimanthudu’, we have hardly come across a blockbuster which is devoid of family emotions.  Family is that important in our culture. The writers will never be exhausted of ideas sprouting from these emotions. There are going to be endless such films.
 
How was it possible to complete the film in such a short span?
 
We went to the floors only after doing pre-production thoroughly. That’s how it became less difficult. My experience as a cinematographer helped me a lot. And Sameer Reddy being on board had its impact. We shot for 75 days, excluding 15 days of travel. We worked tirelessly, day and night.  When you see the film, you will realize that it would have taken 8-9 months to wrap up the shoot for any other.   
 
What difference do you see in Ram from the days of ‘Kandireega’?
 
He has become very mature as an actor. Even though I had directed him once, I myself was shocked to see his acting skills this time.  
 
The failure of ‘Rabhasa’ must have affected you. Did you miss friends because of that.  

A failure does have its cons.  But I am not overwhelmed or underwhelmed by success and failure.  I never lost any friends over the years.  I had been in talks with Ravi Teja, Sai Dharam Tej and others, including Ram, before zeroing in on ‘Hyper’. Heroes would always be ready to do a film with a director. What matters is whether you have the right story to offer on the table.

 
You were to remake ‘Vedhalam’ for Pawan Kalyan. What happened to that?

Yes, that proposal was there. I had already committed to doing ‘Hyper’ by then. (He hinted that he can’t say anything more about the project).