Vinay Viveka Vardhan has won several awards and is now ready to take the Telugu film industry by storm

Filmmaker Vinay Viveka Vardhan's latest movie Main Aur Raja has won the hearts of many 
Vinay usually does the direction, screenwriting and the editing for most of his movies
Vinay usually does the direction, screenwriting and the editing for most of his movies

What does one do when a movie you were an Assistant Director for, with names like Keerthy Suresh (it was going to be the Mahanati star's debut movie) and Naveen Vijay Krishna (grandson of Superstar Krishna is made, but does not hit the big screen? Or when your computer mouse gives up on you when you are about to submit your film for a prestigious project? You don't give up. That's what you do and that's exactly what Vinay Viveka Vardhan did. Every time life threw challenges at him, he would turn them into opportunities. After pursuing his Computer Science from Swami Vivekananda Institute of Technology, he saw success with his first short film Ala Modalaindi, which won him the Best Short Film Award from Telugu One in 2014. And then the golden opportunity presented itself in Vinay's life.

Vinay is grateful to his family and friends, who have been his biggest support system. Especially, Sujith Benjamin, who has given music for most of his films

"I used to narrate impromptu stories to my friends in college and it was my friends who used to encourage me to tell stories through the camera," says the 26-year-old. So with his second project under Friendly Movies, Inaa Ishtam Nuvvu, he did a bit of everything from assistant direction to pre-production. He gave this Keerthy Suresh and Naveen Vijay Krishna starer his all for more than two years. "When the logo was launched, even Mahesh Babu was there and I was just thanking my lucky stars," says the youngster. But alas, despite putting in his blood, sweat and tears, the movie did not release. But Vinay was determined to make a mark in this industry.

Better together: Vinay along with his friends 

The Hyderabadi went on to make many short films and while making them, worked with the now well-known public figures like Sailesh Sunny and Bhavana Rao. But somehow, credit evaded him. "Several of my short films went on to win awards, but I wasn't very well-known," says Vinay, with a hint of despair in his voice. His short film Trapped won seven awards at the Indywood Talent Hunt 2017 and No Smoking won the first prize in the short-filmmaking at Guru Nanak National-level Short Film Festival. But his latest win for Main Aur Raja is a story worth reading.

Vinay Viveka Vardhan says that, "Whatever story I choose, I try to present it in a way that it connects with everyone."

For India Film Project, an annual content creation festival held in Mumbai, participants had to make a film in 50 hours. On the jury were prolific directors like Sudhir Mishra, RS Prasanna and Milan Luthria. "I wanted a solid script so I and my team spent about 12 hours on the script alone. I would shoot in the day and edit the same night," says Vinay. They had just 10 hours to add subtitles, background score, dub and edit the movie. They rushed through it all, albeit to the best of their ability, but ten minutes before their deadline, their computer mouse gave up on them. The bottom line is that they sent their entry on time and went on to win the fifth Best Film of the Year. "But I assumed that the film won't win anything and hence, did not travel to Mumbai to receive the award," says Vinay, that despair creeping into his voice again. But he dismisses the thought that he missed an opportunity to be in the limelight again and says, "I will continue giving all my time to cinema."

Click and watch: Main Aur Raja, his latest film

For more on him, click on facebook.com/vinay.v.vardhan

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