‘Editor’ Mohan is one of the most successful producers in the South Indian film industry. He is a master in detecting the pulse of viewers and making films according to it. Though he entered the industry as an editor, he went on to become a top producer. In his heyday, other producers used to change their release dates if his film is getting released. While his elder son Mohan Raja chose to become a director, his younger son ‘Jayam’ Ravi became a huge star in Kollywood. ‘Editor’ Mohan is 80-years-old now and has spent 65 years in the film industry.
This is an excerpt from his exclusive interview with TLN.
How are you Sir?
I am very fine and glad that I met you after many days through ‘Zoom’. Though I am a bit sad because of not being in touch with Telugu people, I am still in touch with cinema industry.
How do you feel about your 65 year stint in the industry?
I feel extremely contented. I have worked with four generations of actors and I don’t know anything except cinema. Whatever I know I have learnt it from the industry. I used to watch English films in my younger days and used to worry about the quality of our films. That’s why I made good films which have become successes. Now I am taking rest and guiding my children.
Tell us about your background.
Most of the people think that I am from Andhra. Even Tamil people think the same as I have lot of ties with Telugu people. There used to be a comedy actor named Thangavelu in Tamil industry who was like Relangi. As he didn’t have kids, he raised me like his own son. He is the reason for my entry into films. I used to go to studios with him regularly. I was born in a place called Tirumangalam which is near Madurai. I joined the editing department in Neptune studios in 1960.
My first film as an editor was MGR’s ‘Arasilankumari’. I also worked for ‘Ellorum Innattu Mannar’ under the direction of Tatineni Prakash Rao. But the first film for which my name appeared on the title cards was Vithalacharya’s ‘Guruvuni Minchina Sishyudu’. I worked for many films under his direction such as ‘Navagraha Puja Mahima’, ‘Aggipidugu,’ ‘Kadaladu Vadaladu’, ‘Chikkadu Dorakadu’ and many more. I worked for more than 200 films as an editor in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada.
Why did you turn into a producer?
Being an editor, I was made to attend script discussions. My confidence in deciding scripts grew from film to film. I dubbed a Telugu film called ‘Mana Oori Maruthi’ into Tamil and it became successful. My Telugu dubbed films such as ‘Sravana Sukravaram’ and ‘Kankanam’ also became profitable ventures. I produced almost 60 dubbed films and made 10 straight Telugu films and 5 straight Tamil films. I introduced Megastar Chiranjeevi to Tamil industry by dubbing his ‘Aarani Mantalu’ into Tamil. I want every film to succeed and my judgment has never failed.
What kind of care do you take while making films?
I involve completely in the script department. A film called ‘Naan Pudicha Mappilai’ released in Tamil in 1990. I loved the heroine’s father’s character in it. I thought its story and characters would suit Telugu and decided to feature a new face in the old man’s character rather than going for known faces. I decided that Dasari Narayana Rao would be apt but I didn’t want to give direction to him as our styles are entirely different. So I gave the opportunity to direct to Muthyala Subbaiah.
It was made into Telugu as ‘Mamagaru’ which went on to become a huge success. This film has even made son-in-laws respect their father-in-laws which was not the case earlier. Even I followed the same strategy for ‘Bava Bavamaridi’. It was a Tamil film that fared averagely at the box office. My son Ravi acted as brother to Jayasudha’s character in it. It played for 175 days in theatres. One of its songs ‘Bavalu Sayya’ is still being played. I selected Chiranjeevi for ‘Hitler’ as I believed he would perfectly fit in that role. Dasari played Chiranjeevi’s father in it and sentiment between them worked in its favour.
Many editors became successful directors. Why didn’t you venture into direction?
I concentrated on production more and this made me not to poke my nose into direction. I always prefer directors who act as per my tastes. I believe script and editing make or break a film and I keep both these departments under my control. No distributor has lost money because of my films and they have extreme belief in my judgment.
Both your sons are doing well in Tamil industry. Are there any plans to enter Tollywood?
Why not? My elder son Raja is going to direct a film in Telugu now and both of them speak fluent Telugu. I married a Telugu girl and most of the people in my life are Telugus.
How much is the editor’s contribution in the success of a film?
Script is just imagination. Editing showcases the final product to the audiences. A director films a story in his perspective, cameraman shoots it through his vision, music director adds tunes to take the story forward, but editor is a referee of them all. He decides which part to retain and which to delete to make the underlying emotion appeal to the viewers.
Great directors like Adurthi Subba Rao, Madhusudhan Rao and KSR Das came from the editing department. Editor is a person who infuses emotion into the proceedings. Sadly there are just graphic workers now and no real editors. Editing table is to be considered as the decision making table. We used to do special effects also in our days.
There is a lot of improvement in technology now. How is this technology aiding editing
We used to spend ten days to do a single ‘Dissolve’ and ‘Swipe’ in our days. Now these can be done with a click of a button. That’s how much technology has transformed the editing process.
Why didn’t you take action on people who copied your stories?
We don’t know about it until their films get released. That too, I know everyone which is the reason I tolerated such things. I used to feel bad at times and wanted to take legal action, but restrained myself from doing so.
Why didn’t you fight on such issues despite being a senior member of the industry?
I don’t want to spoil the prospects of a film after it gets released. Same thing applies in the case of technicians too as I don’t want to destroy their careers. Earlier, I decided to remake a Tamil film into Telugu. But some others lifted the story from it before I even started. There are several hassles in remaking films as some makers lift popular scenes from the original and place it in their movies.
Are you planning to make any Telugu films?
I readied as many as 20 subjects in Telugu. Some of them have been copied and made into films already. One of the films that I bought the remake rights for was made in Telugu by changing the premise and it even became a hit. I don’t want to reveal the names of those films.
Tell us about your family
Ravi is having a bright career. He is currently playing one of the lead roles in Mani Ratnam’s upcoming historical drama. Raja’s previous film ‘Thani Oruvan’ became a major success which was remade into Telugu with Ram Charan as ‘Dhruva’. His last straight film as a director in Telugu was ‘Hanuman Junction.’ He is going to direct a movie soon. My daughter Roja is a dentist. Though I am not educated, I made my wife study and she went on to finish her double MA. I am completely satisfied with my life.
You have introduced ‘Jayam Ravi’ as a child artist in ‘Bava Bavamaridi’. But, why haven’t you tried making him a hero in Tollywood?
I think I have made a mistake in this aspect. I liked the hero introduction scene in ‘Jayam’ and decided to remake it in Tamil to introduce Ravi. He underwent training in acting in Mumbai for six months. I am happy for him as all his films have done well at the Tamil box office. I also want him to act in Telugu when the time is right.
