Director Shiva Nirvana says that 'Kushi' has a uniquely sensitive point that hasn't been revealed by the film's trailer. In this interview, the 'Ninnu Kori' and 'Majili' director talks about the title and the rationale behind it. He also talks about Samantha Ruth Prabhu's potential to surprise the audience in the role of a lover girl and a married woman. The director predicts that the family audience are going to fall in love with Vijay Deverakonda once again after 'Geetha Govindam'.
Produced by Mythri Movie Makers, the film is going to be released in theatres on September 1.
We have dealt with a sensitive point in 'Kushi'. The same has been narrated in an entertaining fashion. There are also heartfelt moments aplenty. The audience have seen hundreds of love stories. How is 'Kushi' different? The film discusses a new point that we haven't revealed in the trailer. 'Ninnu Kori' and 'Majili' had a love failure angle. 'Kushi' is a fun film in the sense that there is no love failure in it. The title captures the cheerful mood pervading the film. I wanted a title that resembles 'Sarada' and such positive words. Moreover, 'Kushi' is a pan-India word.
I narrated this story to Vijay after 'Dear Comrade' and my 'Ninnu Kori'. After 'Majili', I wanted to try a different genre. That's why I did 'Tuck Jagadish', which had action.
I draw experiences from my life in writing every story. 'Kushi', too, has incidents that I have seen or experienced in my life.
The first schedule was begun in April 2022. The Kashmir schedule was completed in 25 days. The whole production would have been completed in two months after that. Unfortunately, Samantha was diagnosed with Myositis. We didn't imagine that 'Kushi' would take this long. But we had to stand by Samantha as colleagues and professionals.
Kashmir forms a fresh backdrop. The second half was ready. But the first half's backdrop had to be special. I chose Kashmir in keeping with the breezy mood.
We held a musical concert recently after brainstorming with Vijay. Music is key to any love story. That's why we held a concert instead of a pre-release event. The concert was made possible only because Hesham's music is a hit with listeners. The concert was Vijay's idea.
I wrote lyrics for all songs because Hesham felt that it was turning out to be an organic process. I started with 'Naa Roja Nuvve'. It worked well and we continued.
Vijay has got an extraordinary comic timing. The families and young female audience members are going to love him in 'Kushi'. After 'Geetha Govindam', he is going to be loved that much by the family audience.
'Kushi' was decided to be a pan-India release before 'Liger' was out. Both Vijay and Samantha are popular in North India. The latter has done 'The Family Man 2'. You are going to see vintage Samantha in the movie. You will be surprised by her. Roping in Samantha has nothing to do with her personal life. I wrote the story more than three years ago.
I have been a fan of Mani Ratnam since I watched 'Bombay'. I went to Chennai to get into his team. I like the aesthetic sense in his movies. It's impossible for the rest of us to recreate his style. We can only try. 'Kushi' has nothing to do with his film 'Sakhi'. The 'after marriage' element is the only similarity. The story arcs are different.
I couldn't find a suitable cinematographer even 20 days before the Kashmir schedule. I was then advised to rope in Murali G, the cinematographer of 'Andala Rakshasi'. I also liked his Tamil movies like 'Kabali'.
Mythri Movie Makers gave me full freedom. I have never seen producers like Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Shankar. They always give their directors complete freedom. The banner has made action movies with big stars. Making a breezy love story like 'Kushi' is a change for them.
'Tuck Jagadish' was disliked by many mainly because they watched it on OTT. It was made for theatres. The mood of the viewer while watching a film on OTT is different.
