'Maatarani Mounamidi' is the title of an upcoming movie directed by Suku Purvaj of 'Shukra' fame. Presented by Rudra Pictures and PCR Group, the film has Mahesh Datta and Soni Srivastava as the lead pair. Also featuring Archana Ananth, Suman Shetty, Sanjeev and Srihari, it will hit the cinemas on Aug 19.
In this interview, director Suku Purvaj talks about the film, whose music is by Asheer Luke and cinematography is by Charan.
I have done MBA. Since I was a child, I used to be interested in artistic and creative areas. When I directed 'Rangasthalam', a stage play while at Andhra University, I received an award. I used to participate in dramas and plays.
My previous film 'Shukra' was affected by the lockdown after its theatrical release. But, on OTT, it has clocked more than 22 million views.
'Maatarani Mounamidi' is a genre-bending film where there are multiple elements like fun, romance, comedy and horror. When I used to do pilot movies and Indie movies, I realized that it's difficult to keep the audience's attention intact with single-genre movies. When tonal shifts are frequent in a film, it's easy to maintain the audience's curiosity.
Two major characters in 'MM' are mute. When I wrote its story first, my idea was to make it a silent movie since it has been long since a silent movie like 'Pushpaka Vimanam' has been made. With mute characters at the centre, it is not easy to convey the point across to the audience in a way they can understand the scenes properly.
There is a mystery element in the movie but there is no murder. The film is more than what you have seen in the trailer.
Barring Suman Shetty and Archana, almost everyone is a new artist. The lead pair Mahesh and Soni are newcomers. When I first saw Mahesh, I felt I should do a love story with him in the lead role. Soni has got two shades in two timelines. She can't speak in one of the tracks. I try to project those artists who look fresh in new ways. The audience, too, want that.
Chandu, a journalist, has played a full-fledged role in our movie. His hilarious character is going to be entertaining.
I have done courses related to musical notes and cinematography in the past. I have got command of a handful of main crafts related to cinema.
I like thrillers, action movies set against the backdrop of mafia, etc. It's not easy to make such movies, though. I have a library of bound scripts at home. I want to make a sleek actioner.
