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12th
December 2005
What is your reaction of the openings Mahanandi film got?
From the budget point of view, Mahanandi is the biggest film
in my career. Mahanandi got released with 170 prints, hence
generated the biggest openings of my career. I am reasonably
satisfied with the success Mahanandi got. There is positive
buzz for the film. Buyers and distributors are happy with
Mahanandi.
What
about excessive action part in the film?
There are five big action sequences involving me in the film.
Initially I felt that there is no need for so many action
episodes. At the same time, I do not understand the psychology
and sensibilities of B and C centers. Director convinced me
and I went with director's judgment. Though there are many
action sequences in this film, there is no bloodshed or gory
in this film. For me, Gowri film has got more mass orientation.
Shankar character in Mahanandi speaks very less. I liked the
way director molded my character. There is honesty in it.
Your
character has less portion in the first half?
When Samudra narrated the story to me, it was me, the girl
and the girl's brother. I opined that there is no strong villain
in the film. Without great opposition, the hero's character
becomes weak. That is the reason why Srihari's character becomes
negative to the hero in the second half. My character was
underplayed in the first half to accommodate more to Srihari.
You
got credit for the success of your earlier films. Now you
have to share it with Srihari?
The credit of the success of Mahanandi goes to Srihari, Anushka
and me. These three characters play very important role. I
don't mind sharing success with them. If Srihari's character
were not elevated in the film, Mahanandi film would not have
been good.
Did
Samudra deliver the final product the way he narrated at the
script level?
Yes. He could justify 80% of it. And 80% of delivery guarantees
minimum guarantee. There are certain scenes he improvised
better than we imagined. (ex: my confrontation scene with
villain).
You
did class film like Satyam and mass films like Gowri and Mahanandi.
What kind of image you want to have?
I don't want to get trapped into the maze of image. I should
like the script first. If I like a script, I would act in
that film irrespective of it's genre - class, mass, family,
love etc. At the same time I expect my fans to be prepared
for different types of films from me.
We
heard that the budget was overshot. Are you happy with the
producers of Mahanandi?
It was Samudra who set up the project. I was not aware who
the producers were when I okayed the story. Because they were
from Karnataka, there were some procedural problems during
the shooting of the film. The budget went over the limit.
I am reasonably happy with the producers. At the same time,
I want to clear the name of director Samudra for the wastage
happened during the production of the film.
What
are the scenes you liked in Mahanandi?
1. The
romantic scenes in which the girl changes stone-hearted
guy into a romantic one.
2. The separation scene between me and Srihari.
3. Me giving warning to the villain
4. Sacrificing love for heroine toward climax.
What about the music by Kamalakar?
Audio of Mahanandi is the best audio in my career. Kamalakar
should be given the entire credit. I was impressed by the
rerecording done by Kamalakar for Pranam and okayed him for
this film.
You
seem to have good on-screen chemistry with Anushka?
Anushka is the tallest heroine I have ever worked with. Generally
I need to spread my legs or heroine needs to stand on a stool
when we have combination scenes. But for this film we had
perfect heights. In fact, I had to request her to remove high
heels for a few scenes.
Are
you expecting any Nandi awards for Mahanandi?
I feel that rewards are more crucial for films than awards.
The Telugu film industry is in precarious situation with success
rate less than 10%. I am happy that Mahanandi is among those
10% of the films released this year.
Are
you satisfied with the position you are in as hero?
I am never satisfied with my films or with my work. I feel
that you stop progressing the moment you are satisfied.
Do
you think you need to improve as an actor?
I have become very comfortable in front of camera now. My
judgment has improved tremendously. I never analyze myself
as an actor.
What
do you think we lack in Telugu film industry?
In Bollywood, they complete a movie in one and half month
with proper planning. We take around 150 days to make a Telugu
film. For example, it took the same cost to make both Dhoom
and Super. And compare the market a Bollywood film has compared
to a Telugu film? Our planning should be good and we should
go to floors with a bound script.
Tell
us about your next film Godavari?
I am playing the character of Sreeram in that film. The entire
film takes place in a launch trip between Rajahmundry and
Bhadrachalam. It is practically difficult to shoot in Godavari.
I have given lots of sunrise call sheets (scenes to be shot
during sunrise). Sekhar Kammula had a bound script ready before
the start of the shoot. It is written in both Telugu and English.
He follows exactly what is written in it without any deviation.
I call that script as bible for our film.
What
went wrong with Dhana 51?
I jumped into that film at the last moment of pre-production
process. I was not involved at the script level. Surya Kiran
was the only basis of reason for me to accept Dhana 51. I
think the story's focus got lost in the second half. I too
share credit for failure of Dhana 51.
What
are you future films?
Godavari in the direction of Sekhar Kammula would be releasing
very soon. Next project would be on Annapurna banner. In the
past two years, I had been giving two films a year. I would
like to continue that trend.
More
chitchats
Srihari
Mohan Babu 2
Sania Mirza
Suresh Kondeti
KV Ramana IAS
Raja
Surya
Vikram 2
Srikanth Chinnamatur
Prabhas 2
Satya Krishnanan
Prabhas 1
MRV Prasad
PG Vinda
Jaya
Devi Sri Prasad
AM Ratnam 2
Sonu Sood
Ram Gopal Varma 3
Mahesh Babu 2
Shankar
Vikram 1
Mohan Babu 1
KS Rama Rao
Dil Raju
Manyam Ramesh
Tarun
Raghu Babu
Krishna Vamsi
Posani Krishna
Murali
AS Ravi Kumar
Chowdary
Sravanthi Ravi
Kishore
MS Raju
AM Ratnam
Nagarjuna
Ram Gopal Varma 2
SS Rajamouli
Venkatesh
Mahesh Babu
Ram Gopal Varma
Vanisri
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