Chinthalapalli is on the outskirts of Razole. One is surprised to see such a palatial bungalow in that village. Producer-director Sai Krishna Adivi found the imposing structure an ideal location to shoot major portions for his maiden production, Village lo Vinayakudu, produced under Moon Water Pictures (P) Ltd. with Mahi, his partner.
The camera pans on the female lead Saranya Mohan and Rao Ramesh and then shifts towards Yandamuri Veerendranath. After a brief conversation, Ramesh and Yandamuri leave the sprawling drawing room for a walk in the huge garden within the palace. Ramana Salwa's camera follows them for a few minutes before returning to the palace to capture the entry of Krishnudu, the protagonist of the story. The camera focuses on Saranya, the up and coming Tamil and Malayalam actress making her debut in Telugu cinema and on Krishnudu who made a sizable presence in a lead role in the runaway hit Vinayakudu.
This scene is played for a couple of times by editor Marthand K. Venkatesh at the editing room in Ramanaidu Studios before going for the final cut in consultation with the director, sitting next to him. One wonders what the characters were talking about as the conversation was inaudible. "For that you have to go next to Annapurna Studios where the dubbing session is on," says Sai Krishna Adivi. Before you ask him, he cautions that Village lo Vinayakudu has a fresh theme and is not a continuation of his earlier hit, Vinayakudu.
"It is a sequel like the Munnabhai series. The hero is the same but the other characters and the story changes. Most of the story takes place in the village but for a brief part in the city. The lead characters are urban born, bred and educated. So you find urban behaviour and style in their persona, amidst a beautiful rural setting. That's the uniqueness," says Sai Krishna who had a stint as an assistant director with Sekhar Kammula and made a few short films for Mana TV and for NGOs on various social issues.
As the screen flashes the kurta clad Yandamuri Veerendranath's close up, the director reveals his characterisation. The popular author in real life plays an advocate in his reel role, his first full length acting assignment. The director is happy that Yandamuri who refused many full fledged acting offers before, has agreed to don the role. "He plays a typical lawyer, manipulative and strategic."
Rao Ramesh plays the heroine's father, the rich man. The advocate is his good friend. "Saranya has that perfect screen presence and a big plus for the movie is Krishnudu on whom the story revolves." The director reveals that the palace shown as the heroine's house in fact belongs to Krishnudu's family. Krishnam Raju a.k.a Krishnudu has a royal lineage. "With his influence in the area, we could even shoot in some scenic private resorts in Dindhi that were never let out for film shoots before," guffaws Sai Krishna.
He opines that the subject has universal appeal and can be taken into any language. "Every family can relate to it. The central concept can be said in a simple sentence. She told them everything except that he is fat." Well that states the genre {ndash} a cool family entertainer is in the offing.
