Actor Sundeep Kishan’s maiden production venture Ninu Veedani Needanu Nene (NVNN) in Telugu and Kannadi (mirror) in Tamil, which he refers to as a multi-genre film driven by fear factor, is set in the near future — the story begins in 2043. Envisioning an urban city like Hyderabad 24 years from now is a different ball game from conceptualising an entirely futuristic city, say, 100 years from now, in a science fiction mode.
“A brief, five-minute portion touches upon this aspect as the story begins. So we thought of how the buildings might look in the 2040s and the communication systems we are likely to use. When I was growing up, I thought it would be cool to have a portable television. What we have at our disposal today was unimaginable; there’s so much digital content on our mobile phones. In this film, you’ll see holograms and smart watches among other things,” explains Sundeep. He also asserts that his film is not an ambitious science fiction.
Different sensibilities
The bilingual is directed by Caarthick Raju. The script came to Sundeep at a time when he was looking to reinvent himself after a string of films that didn’t pass muster at the box office. The bilingual has almost been treated as two different films, with different editors on board for Telugu and Tamil. “A few actors also differ in both the versions. There’s a lot of difference in the second half for Telugu and Tamil,” adds Sundeep.
This difference in treatment is keeping with the team’s view of what they feel would work for Tamil and Telugu audiences. “I am a Telugu who lived in Tamil Nadu for a few years. Having worked in both industries, I have a fair idea how the films have to be rooted to the native milieu. Many of us (n Telugu and Tamil cinema) have been trying to crack the code of making bilinguals that will work in both languages, both only a few succeed,” he says.
Both industries have witnessed a spate of horror genre films, to the extent of reaching a saturation point. Sundeep admits that though he liked watching a few horror films like Gruham ( Aval in Tamil) and Mayuri ( Maya in Tamil), he never wanted to act in one. “I felt the genre has been over exploited. But I was blown away by Caarthick’s script,” he says.
Sundeep Kishan and Anya Singh
It was that promising script that prompted Sundeep to turn producer; he felt he could give the director complete freedom if he produced the film and didn’t have to work under any constraints.
A few actors including Murali Sharma and composer Thaman are common for both versions. Vennela Kishore plays a crucial part, as revealed in the trailer. “Kishore and I had worked together in my first three films, after which we had never gotten together. He’s a fantastic actor who has shown that he is more than a comic artist in films like Kshanam and Goodachari ,” says Sundeep.
In control
Production had been in his long-term scheme of things, but he decided to take the plunge in the wake of the rough patch he had been through. “My credibility was questioned. I had slipped into borderline depression. I took a break and went away for a couple of months. There were times when I knew my films aren’t shaping up well, but I wasn’t in a position to stress on re-shoots or re-edits and inconvenience both the producers and directors. If I was producing, I would have the liberty to put it in that extra money and the director can re-shoot if necessary,” he says.
In this new phase, Sundeep is looking to follow up NVNN with a comedy film titled Tenali Ramakrishna BA BL , a Tamil film titled Kasada Thapara , and a Hindi Amazon Original web series called The Family Man by Raj and Krish DK in which Sundeep plays a Commando. Speaking about Kasada Thapara , produced by Venkat Prabhu and directed by Chimbu Devan, Sundeep says, “It’s an anthology film and I really enjoyed working in it.”
As the release date for NVNN draws closer, he states, “Producing and acting in the film wasn’t that tough. But the pre-release work and marketing is. We are all happy with the film and eager to see how the audience will respond.”
