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Director Srinivas Omkar: My Name is Shruthi is an ode to a woman’s strength, have a sequel in mind
Hansika Motwani headlines My Name is Shruthi, a thriller that is based on true incidents
Nov 09, 2023
Director Srinivas Omkar
After working as a writer in the industry for several years, Srinivas Omkar is wielding the megaphone for the thriller My Name is Shruthi. The film, which deals with a spine-chilling skin scam as part of the organ mafia, marks Hansika Motwani’s return to Telugu cinema. Ahead of the film’s release on November 17, the director interacted with the media today.
The origins of My Name is Shruthi
My attempt is to discuss a social issue in a commercial format, but it isn’t an art film. It’s a screenplay-driven thriller. We can’t imagine our lives without women. I had read an article in a regional newspaper during COVID-19 about how nearly 500-600 people went missing in a week.
Most cops dismiss those cases as love affairs, but 70% of them fall prey to trafficking and scams. After an interaction with one such victim of the organ mafia, I researched its inner workings. I didn’t want the film to be preachy, so I treated it like a thriller. The film is a mind game about a woman standing up for another woman.
Approaching Hansika, a deeper look into the story
It became easier to approach Hansika for a story about a skin-related scam because her mother is a dermatologist herself. Once she read the dialogue version, she didn’t have any second thoughts. Most of the victims of the scam are from Nepal, where girls are abducted and made to stay in brothel houses in Mumbai and other parts of the country. They fell unconscious for three months.
The perpetrators peel multiple layers of the skin and face inhuman treatment. I always wanted to approach a major heroine for the subject and it’s a bonus that she had a good skin tone to complement the story.The story is about a girl who comes from a village to a city to fulfil her dreams. When she’s reaching closer to her dreams, she is trapped in a hellhole and is forced to take a drastic step.
An ode to the strength of women
The film unfolds through Prema garu’s character and there will be a lot of unexpected twists and turns. It is inspired by a true incident that affected the life of a small-time actor I knew. She was unrecognisable after the incident and narrated chilling details about it over a train ride. My Name is Shruthi is an ode to the strength of women. I had a sequel in mind, but we decided to end the story with a definite climax. Based on the result, we’ll take a call.
Final word
I had a wonderful technical team, be it the cinematographer, editor or music director. The efforts of the crew will be reflected in the final result. 1 Nenokkadine is one of my favourite films, but the film didn’t do well because of the confusion among timelines. My Name Is Shruthi has a screenplay that goes back and forth between two timelines, but I and my editor ensured that it could be understood by the average viewer too. The CBFC board was full of praise for the film and clapped after the screening.
Also read: Hansika on her comeback film My Name is Shruthi
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