Posters of his debut film Andhala Rakshasi on Facebook are already generating interest and the film is scheduled for release next month. Hanumanthu, the creator of this movie, has also written the dialogues.
Ever since Hanumanthu came to Hyderabad he has been working with Chandrasekhar Yeleti; it's been nine years now. Ask him if there has been any influence of his mentor Yeleti and he comes up with a firm ‘No'. “Yeleti taught me about cinema , not his kind of cinema,” he insists.
Driven by an ambition to become a director, Hanumanthu studied B.com in Kothagudem and realised he doesn't have the mindset to do a nine-to-five job or take errands. He came over to Yeleti and travelled with him. After observing him, the director assigned him a job for the television serial Amrutam where Hanumnathu learnt the technique of filmmaking. Yeleti even exposed him to world cinema as a result of which Hanumanthu did a short film I Am Famous on Super 16 format that was screened in international film festivals. The experience gave him the confidence to move ahead to doing a feature film.
Hanumanthu quips, “The film is ready and it is about my understanding of love. It is set against a 1992 backdrop and has all newcomers — Navin, Rahul and Lavanya. The film is about humanity and love, which is a universal concept. There is no negative character at all. Rakshasi is a negative term but when a prefix andhala' is added to it the meaning changes entirely. The expression becomes an endearment, an appreciation. It's an apt title for me but if I have to clearly define the title I would take two hours; instead I'd prefer you watch the film. The film has been shot in Munnar and Hyderabad. The story is the USP and the dialogues have been written by me.”
The two-hour film which is scheduled for release in February also has Pragati and CVL playing important roles.
