Vamshi Paidipally is one of the most successful and respected directors of Telugu cinema with an impressive body of work behind him. He is dismayed to find stories about his alleged rift with matinee idol Mahesh Babu gaining currency on entertainment portals.
Shy and reserved by nature, for once Vamshi is angry enough to let his feelings show. “I am supposed to be depressed, distressed, angry and what-not because my project with Mahesh Sir is delayed. For what should I be upset? Nothing has happened for me to be depressed. Some stories need time to be told. That’s all. To read more into a routine situation of a re-writing of a script is complete fantasy. I request sensation-hungry sections of the media to resist from cooking up stories because YOU WERE NOT THERE. Please show some respect for our private space.”
Vamshi feels the loose talk creates awkwardness between people. “When something like this happens (the proposed film being postponed) people talk and write anything they want, trusting on the silence of the people involved. This is wrong. Please do not mistake our silence for acceptance of the nonsense you write. We can’t be reduced to mere news items. Please show some empathy for us. We are human beings. Please don’t forget that. And we are struggling every day like everyone else. They do not have respect for our lives. Do they think its easy being where we are? You know how it is.”
Shedding light on his relationship with Mahesh Babu, Vamshi says, “To them (the gossip writers) we’re just an item. I stay away from all this. So does Mahesh Sir. They think because our project together is delayed it is the end of our relationship. How pathetic is that! Our relationship goes far beyond one film. I have the highest regard for Mahesh Sir and I know he respects my work. That won’t change.”
As for the latest reports that Vamshi has approached Prabhas for a film, the filmmaker laughs, “Please tell them to let me know when this meeting happened.”