Hyderabad
May 11, 2009

Action director Surender Reddy changed his orientation and directed a comedy flick Kick. This film has opened with terrific response and doing extremely well at box office. Idlebrain.com caught up with Surender Reddy for chitchat. Here are the excerpts -

You are known as an action movie director. Why did you choose comedy to be the main ingredient in Kick?
I am basically an entertainment seeker. I love watching comedy films. My first movie was an action film and I got good response to it. Hence the producers and heroes wanted more action movies from me and the result was Ashok and Athidi. I am the kind of a guy who loves to make movies in all genres. But the producers here don’t encourage it. Producer Venkat trusted me and I delivered him an entertainer.

Can we expect different genre film from you next?
Yes. I am getting a script ready for a love story this time. I am also having another script which will feature new faces. One of these scripts will be made as my next movie. I am a kind of guy who gets bored of doing same films again and again.

You are a proven action director. But the heist and action episodes in Kick are not up to the mark. Why is it so?
It was a deliberate attempt to dilute the action part and serious tone in the movie. The prime aim of the movie is to make it as a comedy entertainer. If we keep stunning action sequences, it will become difficult to balance comedy and fights. People should remember only comedy when they come out of the theaters, not the action parts.

Which one is easy? Doing an action film or a comedy flick?
There will be lot of mental struggle when you make comedy film. There will be lot of physical challenge when you make an action film. Kick film was made in no time and I didn’t feel that I worked hard for Kick. It was like a paid holiday. It took us 90 working days to shoot Kick, where as working days for my earlier action films were more than 140.

Though an ardent Amitab’s fan, Ravi Teja never imitated him for any of his previous films. How did you conceive that idea?
Ravi Teja is born and brought up in North India and he is extremely good with Hindi. I saw in an interview that Ravi Teja is a huge fan of Amitab Bachchan. Our writer Vakkantam Vamsi found a scene where such imitation could be inserted and it is getting very good applause in theaters.

How is it like working with Ileana?
Initially I was skeptical about her performance caliber. She improved herself as an actress with this movie. You will see a different Ileana in Kick.

You gave a hint that there could be a sequel to Kick in the end titles of the movie?
Yes. There might be a sequel with the same combination.

What is the reason for your last two flops?
I am responsible for both my failures and successes. Both those movies flopped because I compromised on certain aspects. I feel that my compromising attitude was the cause of those two flops.

Are you satisfied with Kick music?
Yes. I am 100% satisfied with Thaman’s music for kick. We gave an opportunity to him and he reached 90% of our expectations.

Tell us about the producer Venkat?
I feel that Venkat is the hero of this movie. He has a soft corner towards charity and message orientation. He donates 5 lacs for each movie to various charity organizations on the day of music launch. He trusted me and gave a free hand in making this comedy movie though I had zero experience in handling comedy elements. I am open to do another movie with him whenever he wants.

How is the commercial response to Kick?
Kick opened with terrific collections and mouth talk. It is a sure shot hit as of now. The range will be decided in a week. I am happy that producer Venkat retained huge areas like Nizam, Vizag and East. He is going to reap in benefits. Incidentally, Kick is my first film that is doing extremely well in overseas as well. I would like to thank Telugu movie lovers for making Kick film a hit.

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