Director Kalyan Krishna Kurasala awaits the release of 'Bangarraju' on January 14. In this interview, the filmmaker talks about working with Akkineni Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya and others. The fantasy comedy has music by Anup Rubens.
I first met Nagarjuna garu in 2014 to narrate 'Soggade Chinni Nayana', which was released in theatres in January 2016. Nagarjuna garu has always been supportive and encouraging. The basic story of 'SCN' was written by someone else, not me. I was commissioned to direct it. 'SCN' was decided to have a sequel on the day it was released in theatres. Nag sir asked me to make a solo movie with Naga Chaitanya before the sequel could be done. I did 'Rarandoi Veduka Chuddam' and then Chaitanya got busy with other projects. I then did 'Nela Ticket'.
'Bangarraju' is a sequel that takes off from the point where 'SCN' ended. It's a proper sequel. Lavanya Tripathi's character is not there in the sequel. The characterizations in the film will be in keeping with the age of the characters.
The story spans three generations of characters. There are seven heroines: Besides Ramya Krishna garu and Krithi Shetty, there are the likes of Meenakshi Dixit, Vedika and Daksha Nagarkar.
'SCN' is Bangarraju's biggest competitor, as comparisons are only to be expected. VFX is to the tune of 35 minutes. We had to work really hard to complete them so as to make the product ready for Sankranthi. Even when we didn't know that 'RRR' and 'Radhe Shyam' would arrive, we were decided. But they have got postponed now.
The technicians (like composer Anup Rubens and cinematographer J Yuvaraj) were completely in sync with my vision. As such, it was smooth. There was no miscommunication.
Our film has received UA with zero cuts. The CBFC members said that the film is really nice. It's a proper festival-time movie. The six members are our first audience. The duration is 154 minutes.
The script doesn't give a raw deal to any of the lead men. The characters played by Nag sir and Chaitanya are equally important. Nag sir has sung a song and he enjoys singing fun-filled numbers. 'Laddunda' could have been sung by anybody. But the audience are going to enjoy his singing more.
There are six songs in total and each of them has been conceptualized and picturized differently. Anup Rubens' BGM is apt and in some places, it moved us to tears.
The lead men are flamboyant and at the same time, they look natural. There are five action blocks, considering there are two heroes. Ram-Lakshman duo have composed most of them. You have to wait and watch to see how many of those fights feature the son-father duo.
Krithi Shetty is a naive girl who believes that she is very smart. She is a qualified Engineer who believes that none is better than her. Ramya Krishna garu's character is an extension of her 'SCN' character. You have to see whether only Nag sir's character can see her or others too can.
I always look for emotions in movies. Without a strong emotional core, your film won't click. Big movies like 'Baahubali' and 'KGF' worked because of emotions, too. 'Aa Okkati Adakku' was a comedy film. But even it had a point that appealed to our higher self.
I have not yet decided on my next project. But it will be produced by KE Gnanavel of Studio Green. Depending on who is the hero, it will be a one-language film or a two-language film. I have known Gnanavel for many years. It might be a love story or an action film depending on which hero's dates we get. My first priority is to do the film in Telugu for sure.
