Baahubali, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and RRR writer K V Vijayendra Prasad had an interesting and humour-filled session at the masterclass on the theme ‘The Master’s writing process’ at IFFI (International Film Festival of India 2022) on Monday.

“I have to plead guilty, I don’t write stories, I steal them. There are a set of ragas – comedy, action, thriller, revenge and these are being written. I like to go through epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana over and over again to get my inspiration. No country can boast about such a wide variety of literature,” Vijayendra told us.

“Stories are all about lies. A person who can tell a good lie can be a good writer. I was around 46 years old when I started my writing career. So,I had to look for a shortcut. I watched Sholay repeatedly. I liked how the director had structured the story, interconnecting it with natural emotions. My all-time favourite film is Sholay, though there is also Maya Bazaar (1958).”

Vijayendra feels that there should be a sense of hunger that has to be created in the audience – be it through the title, the story or the acting. “If you write a simple story with a small budget, you earn less, but if your budget is big, you earn more. The time taken is the same. I am my harshest critic, as I write the story and detach myself from it and then I question myself about whether it is good or not. Unless you are harsh on yourself, you can’t do your best,” he opined, adding that he always thinks of a twist at the interval and writes the story accordingly.