About The Session

Cinema does not exist in a vacuum — it reflects society, shapes culture, and carries moral weight. In this thought-provoking session, acclaimed writer-director V. N. Aditya invites participants to grapple with the big questions that every filmmaker must eventually confront: What responsibilities does a storyteller carry? How do the films we make affect the people who watch them? What is the future of cinema in a world of shrinking attention spans, algorithm-driven platforms, and increasingly polarised audiences? Drawing on a rich and prolific career in Indian cinema, V. N. Aditya speaks candidly about the ethical dimensions of storytelling — the power of representation, the weight of narrative choices, and the enduring potential of cinema as a force for social impact.

This session is not about technique. It is about conscience — and about what it truly means to be a filmmaker in today's world.

About The Speaker

V. N. Aditya (Vadrevu Aditya) is one of Indian cinema's most respected writer-directors, renowned for his work in Telugu cinema. Born in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, he began his career as an assistant director under the legendary Singeetham Sreenivasa Rao before making his directorial debut with the blockbuster family drama Manasantha Nuvve (2001), which ran for over 200 days across theatres in Andhra Pradesh. He followed this with Sreeram (2002), Nenunnanu (2004) — starring Nagarjuna Akkineni, which became a major pan-India hit dubbed in Tamil as Chandramadhi and in Hindi as Vishwa — Boss (2006) with Nagarjuna and Nayantara, and Aata (2007) starring Siddharth and Ileana D'Cruz. A filmmaker committed to socially conscious storytelling, V. N. Aditya has also produced films and been honoured with an honorary doctorate by George Washington University of Peace, USA. His most recent directorial work, the global thriller Phani (2025), continues his tradition of crafting cinema with both popular appeal and purposeful vision.