“I don’t write stories, I steal stories. Stories are there around you, be it epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana or real life incidences. There are stories everywhere.You need to represent it in your unique style,” said V Vijayendra Prasad, the famed screenwriter of blockbuster films like Baahubali, RRR, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Magadheera.
“The pursuit to create hunger among the audience for your story kicks off creativity within you. I always try to create a hunger within the audience for my story and characters and that drives me to create something unique and appealing,” said the master storyteller.
He was addressing the film enthusiasts at a masterclass on the theme “The master’s writing process” on the sideline of the 53rd International Film Festival of India in Goa.
While talking about his style of screenwriting, Prasad said he always thinks of a twist at the interval and organises the story accordingly. “You have to create something out of nothing. You have to present a lie which looks like the truth.
A person who can tell a good lie can be a good storyteller,” he added.
Responding to the query of a budding story writer, the ace storyteller said that one has to open up his mind and absorb everything. “You need to be your own harshest critics, then only your best will come out, and you can take your work to unscalable heights,” he asserted.
Sharing his experience of writing for blockbusters like Baahubali and RRR, Prasad said, “I don’t write, I dictate stories. I have everything in my mind; the flow of the story, the characters, the twists.”
He said that one good writer should be able to cater to the needs of the director, producer, primary protagonist and audience.
