Producer Anil Pallala, who has produced 'Happy Ending' in collaboration with Yogesh Kumar and Sanjay Reddy, is gearing up for the coming-of-age drama's release on February 2. Produced on Hamstech Films and Silly Monks Studios, 'Happy Ending' co-stars Yash Puri and Apoorva Rao in lead roles.
Directed by Kowshik Bheemidi, the film deals with the male lead's curse and how he handles it. In this interview, producer Pallala talks about the film and his journey at large. He also throws light on what his company, Silly Monks, has been doing.
Silly Monks is predominantly a digital content-creation company that has previously produced '24 Kisses'. Film production happened by accident to us. Coming to 'Happy Ending', it is a fun film that has been made to resonate with today's youth.
Hero Yash Puri comes from the fashion industry. He is a performer and comes from a theatre background. He knows how to bring intensity to the screen. Heroine Apoorva, too, is a theatre artist.
I am marketing-centric and budget-oriented. On paper, I have to be satisfied with the story if I have to take on a project. The plot of 'Happy Ending' intrigued me and that's why I backed it.
'Vicky Donor' had a taboo topic. 'OMG 2' had a certain starting point. 'Happy Ending' too has an interesting starting point, something we have conveyed through the trailer. The trajectory of the story will what makes the difference.
Today's teens are more aware than the teens of the previous generations. 'Happy Ending' is about a bold topic but it is not obsessed with that issue. This is a must-watch film. I am not boasting. I have seen the movie dozens of times. Visual appeal and nice performances are its major assets. The storyline will leave you with a smile on your face.
The film industry is not organized. Strictly speaking, this can't be called an industry because it doesn't pass the test. In Telugu, about 600 titles are registered. Only 150 films hit the cinemas. What happens to the rest? They end up falling into the hands of middlemen. In most cases, the films get shelved midway after the budget starts to multiply. Some producers invest as much as Rs 5-6 Cr into a film. The film doesn't even hit the screens. In all, about Rs 400 Cr of such investments go down the drain. We at Silly Monks try to streamline the processes so that such financial blunders can be minimized. We are a bridge between investors and creators. We have a thorough knowledge of distribution networks, and we do marketing every day. Every movie is a different challenge for us. We helped materialize 'Maa Vintha Gaadha Vinuma' and 'George Reddy' in the past. 'Happy Ending' is another such film we helped complete within the planned budget.
Cinema is a serious business. People's finances and careers are involved. Every story requires a certain span. Detailed pre-production is the phase where you figure out everything. The pre-production of 'Happy Ending' was done over a period of nine months. If production gets delayed, the cost goes up every second.
Every movie we have worked on has garnered millions of views on YouTube. We don't help create films with short shelf life. YouTube is our primary business. We are also one of the partners with YT. Our role is to empower individuals who want to grow on the platform. There is no shortcut to success on YT. We always have workshops going on. We provide talented individuals with the support system they need. SEO tools, etc are part of the mechanism.
We have a lineup of films. We have ten stories under consideration. A lot of writers are pitching writers to us. We are developing content in collaboration with several writers. Our upcoming movies belong to different budget ranges. Each actor has his own market. We are not going for big-budget films, though. Our films are small-scale to medium-scale ones made on a controlled budget.
