Brijesh Tanangi had always dreamt to tell us his stories. With two important inspirations in Cinema, his plans have taken root in bringing the best films before the audience using creative techniques. Brijesh Tanangi may be new to the Telugu Film Industry. But, the industry has always been his destination. With much creativity and lots of determination, he is on the path towards making a name for himself. His movie ‘Viral prapancham’ is on its way to enthrall movie lovers. Here is a story about how Brijesh came to be here.
Middle class abbayi
Brijesh Tanangi was born in Hyderabad in the year 1992. His parents Ramesh Tanangi and Ranganayaki Tanangi were both working professionals. Dad was into real estate while mother managed a ladies boutique. Brijesh had a typical middle class upbringing with all its charming experiences.
He has a younger sister, with whom he shares a very understanding bond. His sister has acted in Brijesh’s short films. Also, she was a solid support during the shoot of his first feature.
As both his parents were working, his sister and he would play a lot of video games and go out to eat Pani puri in the evenings without their knowledge.
Quite typically, they used to fight a lot and also cover up each other’s misgivings. All this happened at the age of 10-16. Those years were truly memorable for the filmmaker.
An Engineer with an American degree
Brijesh Tanangi did his schooling in Sacred heart High School, Tarnaka and Intermediate in Sri Chaitanya, ECIL. Continuing his education studiously, he completed his graduation from National engineering college, Kovilpatti. He then travelled to America to finish PG in Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey. Here, Brijesh had a few enlightening experiences that taught him the true value of his roots.
An unforgettable teacher
For Brijesh Tanangi, school had inspired him to go out, explore and be himself. As school always had a number of cultural activities, a lot of confidence is pumped into students by the school and its activities.
One teacher in particular stood out for him. “I would like to thank Lakshmi mam, our Telugu teacher from school whose inputs towards the language and it’s studies were truly deep. I still remember her classes from school,” he reminisced.
Brijesh Tanangi continues that he has a very narrative kind of storytelling process. “This was something I developed from my school studies from the teachings of Lakshmi teacher who used to bring out the beautiful side of a story or a lesson in a very narrative teaching methodology,” he says.
He was exposed to Tamil cinema during his graduation studies in Tamilnadu, which later had a major influence on his writing.
Sweet memories from college
College and it’s memories have a special place in heart for anyone. For Brijesh too, it is no different. However, the experiences made such an impact that he remembers very specific details. This is how the story unravels.
The place Is NEC Boys hostel during the year 2013.
He begins by saying that hostel means friends, memories and badly made food. This is true for most of us. However, a few days ago a hostel memory flashed before his eyes. It was a memory of his friends and himself sneaking out of the campus from a passage under the iron fence. Certain thoughtful seniors made this for the generations to come. They were basically trying to escape the badly made food on a Friday evening.
A 15 minute walk would take them to a dhaba called ‘Military hotel’, where “we would have 4 parotas each with salana and 2 omlettes. On days when we felt rich we would have a kothu parota. We would then have this Indian soda ‘Bovonto.” Following this scrumptious meal they would sit by the highway and watch cars pass by for at least 15 minutes. They would then get back to the hostel through the passage.
For the past few years, Friday evenings and nights were quite the adventure for Brijesh. “At least I thought they were, but when I look back I don’t see any solid memories made,” he reveals. He felt bad times give you the best memories.
He shares that the memories made on a 30 minute walk alongside the highway in Kovilpatti was better than a drive in a BMW in Chicago. A kothu parota costing 40 rupees made him feel richer than a pizza worth 30$. “Well all this is in bits and pieces but bad times aren’t really bad. We just don’t realize the worth,” states Brijesh Tanangi.
Partner for life
The filmmaker says that his wife has been a major support to him for the last 6 years. She understands his struggles inside out and never leaves his side. “Always being supportive, my first movie would not have been possible without her,” he adds.
Self taught and skillful
Brijesh has not attended any workshops. It has always been self study. He follows a lot of screenplay videos on YouTube. He feels that YouTube is the best place to find all kinds of screenplay lessons.
One skill he loyally stands by is good communication. He says good communication skills and showmanship works in the industry. Industry is a place for showmen.
Life changing event
Brijesh Tanangi once bought a book written by RGV named ‘Naa Istam.’
That book changed his life. “Only after reading the book did I decide to become a filmmaker,” he discloses.
RGV is Brijesh’s greatest inspiration for filmmaking. He absolutely loves the director’s attitude of being game for every new technique. RGV has added a lot to filmmaking techniques in India, he says. “In my head he is one of the greatest filmmakers India has produced.”
The upcoming filmmaker has another important inspiration and that is Selvaraghavan. According to Brijesh, his Kadhal kondein movie has brought him all the way here. “He is my soul filmmaker,” he expresses. “The scenes of kadhal kondein are still stuck in my head. That’s the influence I have of this filmmaker in my film making.”
This is the beginning
Brijesh Tanangi worked hard towards bagging his first chance. He started Viral, his first feature, as an independent movie in the US. Srujan Yarabolu, his producer, happened to see the pitching teaser and asked him to reshoot it with professional actors in India. It surely is a memorable experience for the filmmaker.
He says that the entire movie making process is quite an experience. He is also very hopeful of his first movie’s critical success.
Brijesh has not seen huge struggles yet. His journey has just started. Still, he has the foresight to be aware of any looming troubles. “I understand there are a few conmen in the industry, people who are here to extract money without working. Should be cautious about these people,” he confesses. Despite this fact, he says that he is excited for the unpredictable future.
Plans for the future
Storytelling has been his passion for more than 10 years now. That’s the motivation to take up filmmaking. This is actually what he wanted all his life.
“My success would be to keep pursuing a filmmaking career all my life. My success would be to not stop storytelling,” Brijesh states.
There are also a few other interests outside Cinema. Brijesh is an ardent book reader. Books have helped him grow as a person. Additionally, he also likes home decor and gardening. These are his regular stress busters which he makes sure to implement.
As a passionate storyteller, he always wanted to write a Novel. He hopes to finish one some time soon. In addition to direction, he would be a writer and write books.
Current and upcoming projects
Current Project: #viralprapancham
Upcoming Project: DevadasParvathy
I have known one side of BT as his family are our neighbors and now knowing the other side is truly adorable. Congratulations BT.