Producer Razesh Danda of 'Samajavaragamana' and 'Ooru Peru Bhairavakona' fame turned a year older today. The supremo at Hasya Movies talks about his journey in brief, saying that he never believes in a hands-off approach.
As a producer, says Danda, he wants to mold Hasya Movies into a banner that upholds refreshing subjects. "My previous and upcoming movies abide by the rule that the storyline must be unique," says Danda.
I am a fan of commercial movies. As a distributor, I dabbled in a number of movies. As a distributor, my focus was on my projects becoming safe in commercial terms. I made more than enough money on 'Ooru Peru Bhairavakona' as a producer. During its promotions, I believed that a chartbuster would attract the audience to theatres. Run-of-the-mill movies have fallen out of fashion these days.
My upcoming movie 'Bachhala Malli' is set in the 1990s. It is an emotional action drama. Like 'Naandhi', it belongs to my kind of genre. About 50% of the shoot is already over. A village set was erected. Starting May 10, a major schedule will be kicked off. With its completion, the talkie part will be wrapped up. The visuals are authentic. I roped in a senior Kollywood cinematographer for the project because it's not an easy film to make. There is a father-son emotion. Allari Naresh's look is going to be different in it.
Another of my upcoming movies is the one with Trinadha Rao Nakkina (of 'Nenu Local' and 'Dhamaka' fame). Sundeep Kishan is its hero. The story was first pitched to Chiranjeevi garu (by writer Bezawada Prasanna Kumar and director Kalyan Krishna). But now, the version has undergone a lot of changes.
So far, my films have been completed in time. I haven't faced delays with production. 'OPBK' alone had some issues but they were minor. The number of working days is pre-decided and planned well in advance.
The actors I work with are well-known to me. They are my friends. I sit across the table and plan everything in consultation with them. I don't know what the future is going to be like, but so far, I have never faced production-related issues. When you want to do movies that stand out, you have to invest a great deal. The budget will have to go beyond the so-called market range of the particular hero.
The range of satellite and digital markets has come down for Telugu movies in the last one year. Fortunately, in my case, all three movies I have done so far faced no concerns on the non-theatrical business front.
I have shifted from one genre to another in my career. How much business your film attracts depends on how good the teaser/trailer is. The actors I have worked with are individuals I trusted even during my distribution days. My journey with them was not planned.
I will be doing a big film with a big star in 2025. That's my plan for the medium-term! I want to keep mum on the name of the hero as of now (smiles).
