Armed with a B.Tech and M.S in global innovation management, Vinod Lingala explored the world; travelled around 15 countries, broadened his mind but driven his passion for film direction, he picked Guppedantha Prema as his directorial debut when he finally ready to take the plunge. He says, “I don’t have roots in cinema, so I worked with producer Madura Sreedhar as an associate director and acquired on-field experience before moving onto Seetamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu, again as an associate director.”
Film with newcomers Made on a shoestring budget, Guppedantha Prema has Navneet Sunder, a keyboard player, as its music director and Sanjay Loknath as the cinematographer. Both had worked in Tamil movies earlier. The lead actors Aditi Singh, Sai Ronak andAishwarya are being introduced through this film. The story on first love revolves around circumstances that separate them. The film shows how it is not the same when you are with another person at a later stage. The film ends on a feel-good, beautiful, nostalgic note. It has been titled Guppedantha Prema because the heart is fist-sized and is full of love. The heart of that size and love can do all the magic.
The film is being shot in Shillong, Cherrapunji and Meghalayala, some parts of Northeast India and Hyderabad too.
The director observes, “The lovers need to have a distance. In Telugu cinema we have not explored many locations; location is also a character in the story locations add value to the film, it is calm, peaceful, and it is far away. It has been shot in 58 days and will be a visual treat. It is not a big melodrama, and is more relatable to youngsters, how they fall in love, how they part due to contemporary problems, but are also poetic in nature. I conducted workshops, and the cast did a wonderful job. It is slated for a March release and we are specific about our audience, it is for a multiplex and an A centre people.”