Top Rao, Reddy, Naidu of politics

Once in a while you get to tell your favourite scene to the creator of a filmseries that yoursquove just watchedSo I recall to director Deva Katta the dialogue from his brilliantly layered researched Telugu political drama Mayasabha Sony LIV where Chaitanya Rao mdash as MS Rami Reddy based on Andhrarsquos top politician YS Rajasekhara Reddy YSR 19492009 mdash stands before his medical college principal in KarnatakaThe studentrsquos led a violent protest incensed by dung smeared on posters of his cinema idol RC Rao based on Andhrarsquos NT Rama Rao NTRThe principal says itrsquos not like they defiled the real person no Reddy argues ldquoWhat if they did that to an image of your GodrdquoPrincipal says ldquoIs this a war between Godsrdquo Reddy retorts ldquoWe donrsquot know what Ram and Krishna looked like RCR as in NTR is that for us Rajvardhan for Rajkumar is the same for KannadigasrdquoPerfect mix of religion politics and cinema most plausible down South Did that happen with YSR who indeed studied medicine ldquoThe scenersquos complete fiction for a reasonrdquo Katta smilesMayasabha is a semifactual series on the life and times of friends turned political rivalsenemies YSR and Chandrababu Naidu mdash top contemporary leaders from undivided Andhra Pradesh with NTR having towered over bothDeva Katta the creator of the show PICPhoto DivisionKatta says ldquoNaidu became soninlaw of Rao anyway That in a sense caused the split between Naidu and Reddy I thought itrsquod be great if Reddy was a mad fan of Rao as wellrdquoThis ensures omnipresence of oldman RaoNTR throughout the nineepisode series although he ldquocomes in like a tsunami only towards the end of seventh episoderdquoThat crucial scene is at a political rally Rao Sai Kumar is still a superstar with no stake in politics yetOnstage is Prime Minister Iravati Basu loosely modelled on Indira Gandhi announcing her political return She gets upstaged by the screen actor sitting among the starstruck audienceThis scene Katta recalls involved thousand junior artistes outdoor location plus actors with speaking parts including Divya Dutta Iravati Nassar playing mediabaron inspired by Ramoji Rao ldquoWe were in the trenches like at war The budget was Rs 3545 lakh per dayrdquoKattarsquos producer Vijay Krishna proposed to wrap it in a day They did Remembering that sequence I find it miraculousThis is an ego clash between the PM and apolitical Rao It changes the course of Andhrarsquos politics in the series As Raorsquos entry would have in the statersquos political history itselfAround 2016 an AmericanIndian businessman producer Sree Harsha had approached Katta to script a House of Cards like show about Andhra politics between the 1970s and rsquo90sSree Harsha had no commercial interest in the movies He was simply a fan of Kattarsquos directorial debut cult romcom Vennela 2005 and political drama Prasthanam 2010Katta says ldquoThe point was to look at a state thatrsquod had no Opposition and no regional formationspolitics since independenceldquoAnd where Congress would win 4242 seats regardless Even in 1977 general elections when Indira Gandhi lost across India she won 4142 seats in AndhrardquoIn this context ldquoGiven chief ministers appointed like viceroys by the Queen termed lsquoseatcover CMsrsquo and replaced fourfive times within a term mdash you look at NTR emerging And two young regional politicians Reddy Naidu who become ministers aged 2829 yearsrdquoWith this as a starting point what you watch in Mayasabha instead is what felt to me like The Motorcycle Diaries of sorts with two superfine leads Aadhi Pinisetty as Naidu and Chaitanya Rao for Reddy mdash albeit separately navigating grassroots to an eventual career in politicsldquoGully se Dillirdquo as Katta puts it And when their paths merge they could well be JaiVeeru with Andhra as SholayMayasabha is in its essence seemingly the contemporary history of a wounded state with all its political complexities including communism Maoism corruption cronyismhellipThe opening slate reads ldquoThe story of India is the story of casterdquo Wherein Rao Reddy Naidu arenrsquot just surnamesDilliDelhi portions where the series surveys politics at the Centre seem strangely corny in comparison though mdash with the PM and her nepotist numbertwo going about their day as if they were Bgrade Mogambos from the rsquo80s This was deliberate Katta confesses ldquoI donrsquot see Indira Gandhi the way I wrote Iravati Basu Itrsquos that when yoursquore glorifying two characters you have to design an oppressive force to show villainyldquoYou should watch this fully as fiction taking facts you like and allowing creative licence for what you donrsquotrdquoThat said among those who ring truest in Mayasabha NTR and YSR are no more Their hardcore supporters are around Naidu is Andhra CM currently He went to prison when YSRrsquos son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was in powerI wonder if Naidu has seen the series He comes across looking great of courseKatta says ldquoThere are many portions mdash for instance the entire track involving a dancer and Naidu which is fiction for entertainment He canrsquot endorse the showldquoPublicly neither will the top film industry folk whorsquove told me theyrsquove watched it twothree times As it is fans of one political leader canrsquot look at the other as herordquoAlready that makes it among the bravest desi political dramas ever noMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass cultureHe tweets mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper