Satyanarayana Koneru, the educationalist and chairman of KL University, has been a film producer. He awaits the release of 'Khiladi' on February 11. Starring Ravi Teja in the lead, it is directed by Ramesh Varma.
In this interview, the producer talks about working with the Mass Maharaja, director Ramesh Varma, the Hindi release of 'Khiladi', what makes the film lavish, his vision as a producer, and more.
I have been an educationalist. I have run the institution (KL University) for 40 years. I strongly believe that one has to follow his passions/dreams. Money should not be the sole criterion. Children find their passions at quite a young age. At our University, we encourage students to indulge in their hobbies. We have full-fledged trainers for them. We are even encouraging students to learn photography and such hobbies. Money is one thing. Following your dreams will make you happy. We counsel parents to encourage their children to choose the Engineering stream they like. My elder son Havish showed interest in acting. I don't know from where he imbibed the interest. I find him happy when he acts in front of the camera. So, I encouraged him to pursue his dreams.
It was my suggestion to cast Ravi Teja garu when Ramesh Varma narrated the script for 'Khiladi'. I liked the storyline and the mass elements in it. We approached the hero and he liked the idea. We then worked on a dialogue version. Once the script was ready, Ravi Teja garu immediately asked us to start the shoot.
I am a producer who believes in the story first. The casting comes next. As per my calculation, 'Khiladi' is going to be the best in Ravi Teja garu's career in terms of collections.
'Khiladi' is a commercial film that suits the tastes of the family audience. There is a hitherto-unexplored plot point in it. The visuals are lavish and some of the scenes shot in Italy will remind you of Hollywoodian standards. It's a chase scene on motorcycles. In terms of looks, Ravi Teja garu is at his stylish best. You have everything in the movie. It's a complete package. Comedy, suspense, mass elements, fights.. you have everything.
A jail set was erected at Ramoji Film City. We shot everything in an authentic and rich manner.
Despite the pandemic, I am very confident. I am extremely happy with the output and we are sure that audiences will walk into theatres to watch our movie. I was a new producer when 'Rakshasudu' was made. But my judgement paid off.
I approached PEN Studios to take the film to the pan-India level. For the first time, a Ravi Teja movie is releasing simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi.
My vision is to bring world-class technology to Telugu films. Unless we keep ourselves informed, we can't have the knowledge to judge. When I am watching a movie, I watch it with the fullest concentration. My focus is as good as when I am running the affairs of my educational institution.
I remade 'Pelli Choopulu' in Tamil and it became a hit there. I remade the Tamil film 'Ratsasan' as 'Rakshasudu' in Telugu and it became a super hit here. I plan the budget for my movies. I am confident in my sense of judgement. When I watched 'Ratsasan', I instructed the director not to change a single dialogue.
'Krack' became a blockbuster last year. When we started 'Khiladi', 'Krack' was not yet in theatres. That film becoming a big hit hasn't affected 'Khiladi' in any manner. We went ahead with no changes to the script.
Devi Sri Prasad's music has been a great blessing for 'Khiladi'. Usually, the music director is chosen keeping the nature of the script in mind. DSP has given his best. Right from day one, he has put in extraordinary efforts. All five songs from 'Khiladi' have clicked with the listeners. In Bengaluru, even non-Telugu listeners are in awe of the songs. The choreographers, the dances by the lead actors.. everything is superb.
The fights in 'Khiladi' will be as great as the fights. They will be stylish and will definitely click with the audience.
I can step into OTT and web series once I understand the craft well. I should understand the prevalent technology first. 'Khiladi' will be as good as a rich Bollywood movie in terms of visuals. Story-boarding and all should always be meticulously planned. If we do it, we can do as perfect movies like Rajamouli does.
We don't yet know the number of theatres in which 'Khiladi' will be released in Hindi. One thing is for sure. There is vast potential in Hindi since we have a wide availability of theatres. Due to Covid-19, there are no releases from Bollywood there.
Be it any business, you need discipline and focus. I involve myself totally in what I do. When it comes to filmmaking, I ensure that the costs are controlled totally. I believe in 100% white payments. Everything is done digitally. For 'Rakshasudu', we spent cash of just Rs 2 lakh. The rest of the costs were paid online.
I believe in quality. My educational institution is among the best educational institutions in the country. There are 20,000 students and everyone is given 360-degree care. I am bringing the same work ethic to filmmaking. I want to encourage world-class entertainment courses by setting up a university.
