A humble star

How does a trailer that became the 13th most watched video within 24 hours of its release, sound for an editor’s first big break in the film industry? For Vamsi Krishna Atluri, it was a dream come true.

As the trailer of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion blew up the internet the world over, a small tweet from director S.S. Rajamouli brought Vamsi to the limelight as the editor behind the video. “A friend told me that Rajamouli garu appreciated me on twitter. It was the best day of my life! He is a huge director and didn’t have to take my name, but he did,” he says, attributing his newfound fame and the success of the trailer solely to the director and the rest of the team.

About the challenges in making the trailer, he says, “It was tough for me to choose the right scene because each scene is made so well. We worked on the first draft and kept improvising it. We had to make 25 cuts to get the current result. It was important that I show the grandeur of the film without revealing much of the story.”  

With the stars: Vamsi strikes a pose with the cast and crew of the film, including S.S. Rajamouli, Prabhas and Anushka Shetty.

Vamsi, who was fascinated by films since childhood decided to stop being a spectator and become a part of them. He pursued his Bachelors in Visual Communication and Masters in Electronic Media. He then worked as an editor for a few news channels before joining Arka Mediaworks in 2013 and bagging this project. He says candidly, “Initially, I felt the pressure. I was scared whether I can deliver a good product because this is not a small project. Eventually, I got so involved that I just gave my best as an editor and  thought about nothing else.”

Vamsi gives interesting insights about the process. “Rajamouli garu was extremely involved in the making of the trailer. He would come, check the cuts and give us inputs almost every day,” he says.