“I am enjoying this phase of silence; I do not want to get into the headspace of thinking I have won,” says Karthik Ghattamneni, cinematographer-director of the Telugu movie Mirai, which has crossed the ₹100-crore mark on the worldwide field workplace. On September 12, the day of the movie’s launch, Karthik was in Tirupati for a darshan. He says, “That has always been my way of surrendering to the universe after completing my work. I watched Mirai on day two, standing at the corner of a cinema hall and observing what was working and what wasn’t for the audiences.”
Karthik’s earlier movie, Eagle, had a lukewarm reception and it was not straightforward to decide himself up and work on a superhero fantasy journey drama. “I am usually critical of my work. This time, I’m aware that we couldn’t have anything more under the given circumstances. It feels incredible to have pulled off such a film.”
Dialogue with the universe
The thought for Mirai emerged almost a decade in the past when he misplaced a pricey good friend, Vijay, to whom he has devoted the movie. “Vijay and I went to engineering college and film school together,” Karthik remembers. While travelling to Rameshwaram to immerse his good friend’s ashes, Karthik remembers experiencing a number of unexplained occasions. “For instance a bird was travelling with us for a distance, and there was something surreal about the waves that touched my feet at the beach. All that I experienced inspired me to write a story about what the universe is trying to convey. Anchoring such a story in the Indian epics, I thought, would add depth to the story.”
Yet, it took time for a concrete story to emerge. Meanwhile, Karthik labored on different movies as a cinematographer. “However, the idea kept returning,” he says. By 2022, a narrative was in place and his good friend, actor Teja Sajja, was assured that it might make for an attention-grabbing superhero movie. “It is similar to how my protagonist, Veda (Teja Sajja), ventures into the unknown. I knew that if I took a few steps forward, I would find a way with the story.”
The writing of the story and screenplay concerned a number of iterations and took Karthik and co-writer Manibabu Karanam three years. “The initial version would have made for a six-hour film. We filtered what was absolutely necessary to make the story interesting to all age groups.”
Mirai narrates the story of a Superyodha, or the chosen one, who has to shield the ninth grantha or e book, and forestall an evil pressure from turning into an immortal and wreaking havoc on the world.
“We had written the arc for each of the granthas or books — what they signify, who are their guardians, and how the books are taken over by Manchu Manoj’s character, Mahavir Lama, wielding the Black Sword. It would have been repetitive to show each of these stories on screen. So we state that he has already taken over six books, and show how he overpowers the guardians of the kala grantham (book of time) and sabda grantham (book of sound). In the later portions we reveal how he took the first book. The big battle for the ninth book that would give him immortality, is reserved for the climax.”
AI for planning
The movie is an instance of attaining technical finesse inside a modest finances, reportedly round ₹60 crore. Karthik reveals that AI was used to generate superior storyboarding on the planning levels. Production designer Nagendra Tangala was roped in at an early stage, and in depth sketching was completed for the pre-interval episode that includes the hen Sampathi.
An in-house visible results staff was arrange. “At least 15 people worked with us through the film and in the last two months, we had a 300-member team,” says Karthik. The benefit of an in-house VFX staff was the straightforward entry of footage, and the draw back was the opportunity of an abundance of VFX pictures from which they’d to choose what was required for the movie.
The filming was completed over 120 days, and almost half of it warranted guerilla technique of shoot, with a crew of 30 members. “I had done such shoots in my student days for short films; this was like coming full circle,” says Karthik, explaining how among the parts on the Himalayas and the climax bridge sequence filmed in Sri Lanka required such an method.
Teja Sajja in ‘Mirai’
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Special Arrangement
“Sometimes the weather was conducive, at other times we had to be patient. Teja walking against the wind while climbing the mountains is all real. For the bridge sequence, we could not use additional lights or generators. We used natural light in the best possible manner. Despite the uncertainty, when I looked through the camera, I knew we were on the right track. And I hoped that the audience would also connect with the narrative.”
The story of the mom and son who by no means meet is a pivotal portion of the story. On the selection of Shriya Saran to play spiritually-inclined Ambica who can foresee the menace to the world, Karthik says, “We wanted someone who can look elegant, dignified and vulnerable. It took Shriya a while to find the rhythm of her character; then it was a breeze. Her posture, body language, costumes and colour palette added to the character’s aura.”
Sets and extensions
The Himalayalan ashram parts have been filmed at a darbar sq. in Nepal with VFX extensions. Instead of a chilly color palette on the mountains, heat tones have been used to point out divinity.
A big set was constructed for the ‘paradise scrapyard’ inhabited by Teja. The scrapyard is a metaphor to him rising up uncared for, till he begins his search for the bigger reality. Teal and rusted metallic tones have been used for this portion. Karthik explains, “Overall, we did not want a dark colour palette. We wanted the film to be child-friendly as well, so we chose colours that were neither too bright nor too dull. We strived to achieve this balance in costumes, production design, minimal makeup for the actors, and the colour grading in post production.”
Karthik admits that when Kalki 2898 AD launched, the staff observed a number of similarities in set design and ideas, and made adjustments to keep away from the sense of deja vu.
One of the difficult duties for the staff was the pre-interval portion that includes the large hen, Sampathi. A big set was put up at Shamshabad within the outskirts of Hyderabad. With the assistance of animatronics, a 20-foot hen was designed to function a reference level whereas filming. “The set was massive. We needed another 10-foot space above the bird to set up the lights. We used further VFX extensions to make the space appear even larger on screen,” says Karthik.
VFX trial and error
Every step of VFX concerned trial and error. “None of us knew how certain things would shape up. For example, the powder emanating from the black sword, or the gold dust that denotes knowledge from the books… A film of this scale and vision was a first for me. Though we had a few references of animation, achieving the desired result was tough. We worked on the VFX for the Sampathi sequence until five days prior to release. The feathers had to appear wet, with water dripping from it, and the scene that shows Teja emerging from the cave atop the Sampathi took 16 days to render.”
Karthik hails editor Sreekar Prasad as one of many movie’s largest belongings. Though Karthik can also be a educated editor, this time he let the veteran editor be the guiding pressure. “He ensured that the film had a fast-paced narrative to make it commercially viable.”
The stage is ready for Mirai 2, however Karthik just isn’t certain if he would be instantly engaged on it. “I want to do a spectacle film in a different space, a different genre.”
Published – September 17, 2025 04:44 pm IST
