The atmosphere is quiet except for the buzzing sound from the generator van parked outside the White House, the popular bungalow let out for film shoots in Film Nagar. Debut director Anand Ravi with cinematographer Shyam Dutt was filming part of a sequence for Parents, on the lead pair Vamsikrishna and Ruchika Babbar with a few junior actors on location. The unit had completed the shooting including the songs in exotic locales — Vizag, Araku, Goa, Mumbai and Chennai besides Hyderabad. Interestingly, Vamsikrishna who had debuted with Sekhar Kammula's Happy Days also produces the film supported by his parents and friends from U.S.A.
As you watch the shoot you realise that Vamsi plays an orphan who tops in civils and is about to take up the IAS training when the news about the existence of his parents reaches him. He sets in search of them joined by his “highly possessive lover” (played by Ruchika Babbar). “The travel takes them to various places meeting a few interesting persons (played by popular film personalities whose names the director withholds for now) and finally leading to an exciting climax. “Shot in Red camera, the exotic locales allure the audience. The six songs (written by Vanamaali) are situational and melodic. In one word the film defies the set parameters of Telugu cinema and takes a realistic approach,” says the filmmaker.
Contrary to popular thinking that Anand Ravi made his entry into films with Sekhar's Anand and hence the prefix, ‘Anand' to his original name Ravikumar, the debutante says that it was his parents who gave him this screen name as ‘Anand Ravi' as they called him with a pet name Anand during his childhood. “I joined Sekhar Kammula during the making of Godavari,” he clarifies.
Hailing from Srikakulam, Ravi has this talent of story telling since schooling. This set him to Hyderabad and after a two year struggle he finally found his guru in Sekhar and of course now a producer in Sekhar's protégé Vamsikrishna who was bowled over by the fresh feel in his script. Now in post production work, Parents is set for a June release.
