"Storytelling is the only field where I felt like I belonged," says an aspiring feature filmmaker Deepak Reddy

ETimes was recently fortunate enough to interview Deepak Reddy, the director of the ambitious and breathtakingly beautiful 16-minute short film Manasanamaha. He has an undeniably powerful impulse to tell a story. He also worked as an associate director for Sekhar Kammula's Fidaa in the US schedule. He was generous enough to share his inspiration for filmmaking, how he involves in filmmaking and his feature film debut with our readers. Below you'll find our interview with him.

I fell in love with the movies when I was very young. I would go to see any film. I also read everything about cinema. There's this kind of bug that bites me at an early age. I always tend to wonder how movies are made. So growing up, that's what I did. I was curious and it never goes away. Then I become an adult and want to direct movies. It's just a hard thing to get into. What drives me to keep making films is my insanity. Storytelling is the only field where I felt like I belonged. I don't think that there is one specific thing that inspires me into film making. It's everything. I love telling stories through visuals.

Like I said, I have always been fascinated by film. Growing up, movies were my window on the world. So far, I have made four short films that went viral on social media. As a student, in 2013, I made WTF has made it possible for me to draw public attention. Later, I made Excuse me, Hide and Seek and most recently Manasanamaha. Manasanamaha is by far the most successful. Hide and Seek was also successful and helped me really make my name as a young filmmaker. I am very ambitious as a filmmaker and want to get things done as quickly as possible. The role of a director is exciting, and there is something incredibly validating as a human being. I think that's why I like it.

I am an avid movie lover. For me, every movie is motivational in one or the other film. But here are few movies, which positively motivates me through some of their influential dialogues and gripping narrations. Marc Webb's 500 Days of summer is one of my favourite films of all time. I love Stanley Kubrick films such as A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Steven Spielberg films, Saving Private Ryan and Jurassic Park. I freaked out watching these quirky movies with a strong theme underlined.

When it comes to Telugu, I love Sukumar garu, and he is my favourite filmmaker in Telugu. The way of his narration onscreen is impeccable. I feel most accomplished when I got a call from Sukumar, who appreciated my style of storytelling. And Rajamouli garu. He, to me, is arguably the most celebrated filmmaker in the history of Telugu cinema. His films created the business of blockbusters. And Gautham Menen is right up on my list. I love the filmmakers who make path-breaking films and set a benchmark in the industry.

I have been writing a story since last year, and it will be done hardly in a couple of months. I was looking for producers who can give creative freedom, and now I found them to be very passionate about the purpose of filmmaking. Within the next few months, I will be working on my first feature-length film, I hope.