Filmmaker Swapna Dutt makes a comeback and hits the success spot with Mahanati

After the failure of her channel, Local TV, Swapna Dutt made a comeback into the world of entertainment with Yevade Subramanyam and the hugely successful Mahanati.

When everything collapses and you find yourself alone, you can do two things: dwell on your mistakes and blame them on fate, or pick up the pieces and start again.

Entrepreneur, filmmaker, and producer Swapna Dutt took eight long years to revive from the failure of her television channel.

Anyone would think Swapna had it easy. She hails an illustrious background; her father is well-known film producer Ashwini Dutt, the founder of Ashwini Movies.

But her journey into television and films came with its own share of setbacks. And to understand the “phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes” scenario, one must go to the very beginning.

Swapna started assisting her father when she was 18 years old. During her business management studies at Ohio University, she continued to work for him, handling production and shooting schedules abroad.

“Getting into films was a given as my sister and I had been exposed to the industry since childhood. He used to make us listen to songs from his upcoming films and what I remember most is his attention to detail,” she says.

Starting out

Spurred by this passion, Swapna started Vyjayanthi Televentures on her return to Hyderabad. She could have easily implemented a project of her father’s but Swapna chose to break out into her own. “Television was taking a huge step towards change, and regionally, it was time to start something new, and bring in interesting content and concepts,” she adds.

Not content with just content, Swapna took an ambitious step and launched Local TV, a Telugu channel, on cable that went onto create some of the most exciting and widely watched television content. But the effort met with failure.

“I wouldn’t say the content failed; the model did. If we had launched on satellite, it would have sold well. We were hoping to do city-based content, but it didn’t work out for various reasons. However, the attempt taught me a lot and played a vital role in shaping who I am today,” she says.

New challenge

Giving up, Swapna says, was not a choice. She wanted to challenge herself again and make a comeback. And for that, she chose the path less taken. She produced Yevade Subramanyam at Mount Everest with debutante director Nag Ashwin, a path-breaking film that went on to win many awards.

During the making of Yevade Subramanyam, Nag Ashwin narrated to Swapna a script on the life of yesteryear actor Savitra Ganesan.

“I was excited as my sister and I grew up watching her movies, we come from a home where cinema is religion and we are great fans of Savitri. Thus Mahanati (Nadigaiyar Thilagam in Tamil) was made with Dulquer Salman, Keerthy Suresh and Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the lead roles.”

Ever since its release in May, the film has become a blockbuster at the box office earning rave reviews.

“During the making of Mahanati, we didn’t really look at the dynamics of the project, or what would work or not. When I look back, I believe that if you do something that’s extremely sincere and put in your best effort, you will not fail. And, we are one of the best examples of that,” she says.

Having lost and then found her creative mojo, Swapna now wants to simply “go with the flow”. Next up is exploring the digital medium and a new film too.