One can definitely expect an element of freshness in approach and execution when a youngster takes over as a producer. K. S. Rama Rao's son Alexander Vallabha had produced two films Veera Kannadiga and Chukkalo Chandrudu but recently showed his business acumen in wrapping up a magnum opus Dammu almost on time. “We lost a few days due to the Telangana bandh and the industry bandh, otherwise everything went on per schedule. We also had to spend a little more but that was because my father and I loved and believed in the subject. This is my third venture, a mammoth one and I gathered a wealth of knowledge that one usually gets while producing and working for 100 films. Whether it was the logistics, the pressure or a fleet of thousand people to be managed, everything went off smoothly. The actors too pitched in their support and guided me as this is my first ‘big' film,” quips Vallabha.
An MBA in marketing, Vallabha says the story is apt and customised for Tarak. He adds, “Sometimes we do certain things in our life despite our reluctance . This one is about a good person who loves life and believes that everyone should live and let live, yet turns violent; we show the anguish and trauma he goes through when he is compelled to wield a sword and run on the street to kill people. What happens to him in that situation, what are the decisions he takes and how people react forms the crux of the story. We are very clear we aren't making a classical or an art film, it is a sensible story designed to entertain masses.”
The film which is releasing between the April 19 and 27 has been shot in Hyderabad and Pollachi on the Karnataka-Kerala border. The producer says the technical aspects are superlative and they had long decided on Boyapati Seenu and NTR combination. Karthika and Trisha travel along the story, they are not mere glam dolls, and act as a catalyst to the hero's changing nature. Apparently Boyapati Seenu narrated eleven stories to the producer out of which they zeroed in on Dammu . Alexander Vallabha quips that there are 54 major artistes in the movie and it was finally a smooth going.
“There is a difference between Tarak speaking to my dad and speaking to me — the equations change when I enter the picture, there is the comfort level and freedom; we all are young and think on the same level. My dad would have reacted differently, my decision making was swift and on the spot.”