On the Sets

TELUGU

Nag launches Sumanth’s next
Thespian ANR’s grandson Sumanth’s second film was launched with great fanfare at Annapoorna Studios recently. Nagarjuna, who had introduced his nephew with Premakatha, is producing this film, too, under the Great India Entertainment banner with Bhumika and Jayasudha also in lead roles.

Karunakaran, who rose to fame with the blockbuster Tholi Prema, is the director. Having proved his mettle with family entertainers, he gave Pavan Kalyan his first massive hit. It took a long while to finalise this love story of a soldier and requested Nagarjuna to join the project along with distributor-turned-producer Sudhakar Reddy. The muhurat was held along with ANR’s birthday celebrations and almost the entire Telugu industry turned up. The inaugural shot featured Sumanth walking up the stage with a national flag and saluting. Karunakaran’s father Aligiri Swamy switched on the camera, while ANR sounded the clapboard.

Since Sumanth is attired in army fatigue, we ask Nagarjuna if it’s a war film. “Army life will be a part of the film, but I’d rather not reveal more about the story. I was very impressed with the script, which focuses on the mother-son relationship. We plan to release the film in April 2000.”

Sumanth, for whom this is his second film for the home banner, said, “I’d like to work with other banners, too. In fact, my next two films are with other producers. I took a gap after my first outing, because I’d been waiting for the right script. Let’s hope we don’t repeat the mistakes of Prema Katha.”

Says Bhumika, a former model for Godrej and Ponds, of her acting debut, “I accepted the film as I liked the subject. I was also aware of the kind of respect Nagarjuna’s family gets in the South.” Director Karunakaran described the film as the “biography of a youth”.

Raithuanna
Water and other issues
Producer-actor R Narayanamurthy who writes and directs all his films is probably the only red filmmaker left in India, since the audience for these kind of realistic, message-oriented films has gradually decreased over the years. After two reversals at the turnstiles, many predicted he would leave the industry for good but he surprised one and all by launching and completing his next, Raithuanna, which is slated for release by end-October.

Narayanamurthy who is a very simple man unlike other filmmakers normally prefers to sign artistes and technicians who suit his budget but this time he has pencilled in ace character actor Sarath Babu to play a key role in this film. The red filmmaker who earlier promoted Vandemataram Srinivas (now a leading director) promotes Sheikh Imam as music director with this film. As usual, he is also introducing three new playback singers Garjana, Anjaiah and Surekha with this film that highlights the plight of the farming community.

Actor Sarath Babu who is doing a film with a political backdrop for the first time in his two-decade old career, said, “Normally I accept a offer only if I like my character but I accepted this film since I had complete confidence in Narayanamurthy. Having seen the rushes I think I made the right choice, It is basically the story of a brother, sister and her husband, how external situations influence their lives. This is my first film with political overtones but it also has other shades to it.”

R Narayanamurthy told SCREEN that his earlier film had done well in B and C centres. “Though 80 per cent of India comprises of the farming community, the government has failed to address the core issues of water and security for farmers. If an industry ends up in losses, the company can refer it to the BIFR and be safe. But there is no such security for farmers. We can solve their water problem by combining all the rivers in India, but the politicians are using these problems to garner votes, instead of solving them,” he added.

Samudram
Jagapati back in actioner
Much before the launch of Samudram, Jagapati Babu had told Screen there was a dearth of action film directors like Krishna Vamsi in Telugu. He said he would like to do a typical actionflick with Vamsi. Jagapati Babu, after attaining recognition as an action hero, moved to a different slot, tasting success with family-based subjects. Now he wants to prove his mettle once again and has even pumped iron for the right kind physique for this actioner.

Glamour girl Sakshi Sivanand is paired opposite him with Prakash Raj also in a key role. Producers Bhagwan and Dhanaiya of Balaji Art Creations who earlier made Maavidakulu, have given a free hand to Krishna Vamsi. The music was released by Supreme Audio recently. Music director Sasi Preetham who earlier worked with Vamsi in Gulabi has now joined hands with him after a gap. The film, being presented by Pulla Rao, is slated for release in October.

Talking about the backdrop of the sea in the film, director Vamsi said, “The sea can be seen in every song and frame, since the charater of Jagapati Babu is calm like the sea at times and ferocious on occasion. Prakash Raj has a very significant role. In a philosophical mode, the sea remains a spectator to the happenings on earth, yet is unable to do anything about it.”

Prakash Raj, who bagged the national award for the best supporting actor for his realistic performance in Vamsi’s Anthapuram, said, “Vamsi has a good command over the medium and he is definitely one of the best directors I have worked with.”

‘Editor’ Mohan’s next
Successful producer ‘Editor’ Mohan launched his latest venture, yet untitled, with a song recording muhurat at Vijaya Gardens, Chennai, recently. A remake of the Tamil super hit, Viraluketha Veekkam, the film stars Rajendra Prasad, Srikanth, Brahmanandam, Roja, Maheswari and Kovai Sarala in stellar roles.

Mohan introduces Raja Vannemreddy as the director. “Raja has worked with my banner since 1992 and I think he’s a talented youth. This is the right break for him as a director as the theme has all the ingredients of a commercial blockbuster. It was kind of V Sekhar to give the Telugu remake rights to me despite the stiff competition. Earlier I had remade one of his movies, Mamagaru, and the film won a couple of Nandi Awards besides being a huge hit. We are recording all the six songs with music by Vandemataram Srinivas. The shoot commences from October 11 at Hyderabad and will be completed in two schedules. Ramya Krishna makes a special appearance. I’m sure the movie, which is based on the middle class life and sentiments will appeal to the Telugu audiences, too,” said Mohan. With dialogue by Rajendra Kumar, the movie is coproduced by M Raja and Mrs MV Lakshmi.

Vali
A sell-out!
The Telugu version of the Tamil hit, Vali is slated for release in October. The film is a sell out in all areas of Andhra Pradesh, says the producers Sudhakar, Sobhan Babu and Jaganmohan Rao of Sri Mahaganapathy Combines. The songs from the film were premiered to press persons in Chennai. They are in tune with the present musical trend, combining melody with a quick tempo. Deva’s music has been well-received, too, in the audio market. The Ajith-Simran starrer introduces Naghma’s younger sister Jyotika to the Telugu audience. RB Chowdhury presents the movie.

Desam Kosam
Suryodayam dubbed
The Vijaya Shanti-starrer, Suryodayam from Tamil is being dubbed into Telugu as Desam Kosam by producer Maddi Narayana under Sri Krishnarjuna Films banner. Besides Vijayashanti, the film which deals with international terrorism has Raghu, Vijayakumar, Hariraj and Anusha in the lead.

Vijaya Shanti plays a CBI officer in this action-thriller with a patriotic touch, shot extensively in Uzbekistan, India and Sri Lanka. Says Narayana, “This is the first Indian movie shot in Uzbekistan. The story deals with the hunt for a terrorist who has escaped to that country and Vijaya Shanti is on the mission to nab him. The hand-to-hand combat Vijaya Shanti wages with the terrorist (played by Viswajit) and the waterfalls scene in the climax are a treat to watch. We plan to release the movie in October.”

Gnani provides the musical score while Bharati Babu wrote the dialogue. The movie is directed by LV Adavan and presented by K Krishnarjuna Rao.

Pellante Idera
Due on October 15
The 24-hour movie wonder Swayamvaram (Tamil) has been dubbed into Telugu as Pellante Idera by Paruchuri Kutumbarao, alias Chinni, one of the popular Paruchuri Brothers.

The five songs from the multistarrer were shown to the press in Chennai. A highlight is that Prabhu Deva, besides choreographing, also renders a song filmed on him and Roja. Each song was composed by a different music director — Illayaraja, Deva, Vidyasagar, SA Rajkumar and Sirpi, with lyrics by Vennelakanti.

Premante Pranamista
A super special climax
Five Star Cine Creations’ action-packed love story, Premante Pranamista starring Aravind Swamy, Prakash Raj, Raghuvaran and Isha Koppikar is due for release on Vijayadasami Day.

The three songs from the movie were screened to press persons recently in Chennai. Set to tune by AR Rahman, the songs were penned by Sitarama Sastry. Two lilting melodious numbers were picturised on Aravind Swamy and Isha while the third, a quick tempo track, was filmed on Raju Sundaram and Reshma. Incidentally, Raju Sundaram choreographed the three dance numbers, which are in tune with Rahman’s musical score. “We’ve seen many love stories on screen, but this one directed by KS Ravi has such a climax that hasn’t hit the Indian screens so far. I’m confident the audiences will agree,” says producer Vajja Srinivasa Rao.

Sadist No.1
Season of the dubbed!
There is a boom in the dubbing of English movies into Telugu. The latest in this genre is Sadist No 1 dubbed from Witchboard-3 The Possession, by producer VS Bose of Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka Films. At a press conference to mark the completion of the dubbing, writer Vennalakanti said, “A practitioner of whichcraft commits suicide and enters into the body of the hero, whose soul is now caught in a mirror. The heroine suspects some foulplay after a series of incidents and how she gets rid of the demon and rescues her husband forms the central theme of this spine-chiller. The graphics are a feast for the eye, comparable to the FX in The Mummy.”

Producer Bose says they have enhanced the digital sound quality for the Telugu version by taking special care with the dubbing. “The film have a simultaneous release along with the English and Hindi versions in the first week of November,” says Kamal Jain, the all India distributor.

Naresh