One of the country's ancient Vaishnava shrines, the Lord Narasimha temple in Ahobilam, a forty km drive from Nandyal railway station was the chosen location to film a crucial scene for Sri Venkateswara Creations, Production No.12 directed by Dasarath. A temple backdrop seems to be an inevitable feature in a ‘Dil' Raju production. In an era in which top producers are making just one film in two years, the notable point is that Raju is producing three films simultaneously, all with top actors. This untitled film stars Prabhas, Kajal Agarwal and Tapsi in the lead.
At the location were Prabhas and Kajal. Cinematographer Vijay Chakravarthy (of Bommarillu and Parugu fame) shot the scene from a crane mounted camera as the lead pair steps out of the temple and enter the sprawling open sand filled area outside. The two were in an animated conversation. All of a sudden a thug spotting them takes on Prabhas. From here fight choreographer Peter Hynes took over. For Prabhas such scenes were a cake walk. The thug's character was played by ‘Kathi' Seenu.
This was a few weeks ago. The unit then left for Malaysia to continue filming the action block and also the talkie part on the three lead actors and Prakash Raj, Raja Ravindra and others. “We have completed three schedules in Hyderabad, Ahobilam and in Malaysia. The fourth one will be held in Australia till August end where we plan to shoot a couple of songs and crucial talkie portions,” said ‘Dil' Raju from his office in Srinagar Colony in Hyderabad. He is also planning to shoot in Pollachi and conclude the shoot by October in Hyderabad.
“We have a few titles in mind for this movie, but are waiting for the most suitable one to crop up. Actually the central plot is my creation. Based on that, Dasarath has developed the story and the characters and written the screenplay. It took nearly two years to arrive at the final draft. As for the lead characters, Prabhas plays the role of an NRI from Australia. We are shooting those portions in Melbourne and Sydney. Tapsi's character also hails from Australia, while Kajal plays the native girl. It is a slick romantic love story with loads of action and varied emotions. The hero has an attitude, he does what he wants. Every one despite any age restriction, from elders to young can identify with this character. It just looks as if it emanated from their personal life. There is such commonality in the character played by Prabhas,” explained Raju. He had earlier made Munna with Prabhas.
Devi Sri Prasad composed the music. “The four tunes he has given so far are wonderful. You will love them too,” he said. Murali Mohan, Nasser, Brahmanandam, Raghu Babu, Tulasi, Pragathi and Rajitha are among the star cast. ‘Dil' Raju is planning to release the film in December.
