Sudheer Babu is back from a whirlwind tour of Andhra Pradesh and a few districts in Telangana and this time, the interest he is showing in promoting his film is not very different from what he does for his other films. Nannu Dochukunduvate is his debut film as a producer and scheduled to release on September 21.
After his last film Sammohanam, he is being flooded with offers. We ask the actor what was the necessity to take up film production and Sudheer reminisces, “A lot of people have good stories and look out for producers; some of these producers back out in the last minute. I know the pain of these people and I decided to turn producer. It is not only about funding; it is about identifying talent, encouraging newcomers and I know I will be respected if I take on board a new writer/director and pull it off.”
Nannu Dochukunduvate was earlier expected to release last week. Says Sudheer, “Some people felt I should release the film alongside U-Turn and Shailaja Reddy Alludu but I postponed it by a week. The future of so many people is at stake. So we have to be careful while planning the film’s release.”
Has life as an actor changed for Sudheer post Sammohanam ? He says the number of producers and directors approaching him to narrate stories has increased. Well known production houses are coming forward and roles wise, he has always been experimenting, “I have been doing all kinds of genres. If something new has happened, I think I have been doing fewer action films. At the end of the day a hero has to be responsible, irrespective of whether he is producing the filmor not. While talking about a film, people refer to it as Sudheer’s film. Earlier I would think it is enough if my role is good, but now I see the film as a whole. We have to break stereotypes. I tried to break the notion that I can do only action films and may not be able to carry off soft roles.”
Though Nannu Dochukunduvate came to Sudheer before Sammohanam, the latter’s success had its effect. The team worked more on the writing, made slight changes and improvised the scenes. How does success affect an actor? He says firmly, “It is a bigger responsibility; we need to work on stories to reach a wider audience. Nannu Dochukunduvate is an urban story with Telugu sensibilities. We wanted a proper Telugu title and I felt Nannu Dochukunduvate was the perfect one. It’s tough to translate it word to word, we can perhaps say it is the beat of the heart.”
It’s a romantic comedy and we learn that the story is about a man who works towards his goals and never enjoys his weekends and lives an isolated life. He is a manager in a software company and leads a monotonous life, bereft of emotions, doesn’t react if someone says his father is sick or he is getting married. He then meets Siri, a complete contrast, and his goal goes for a toss. When the director first narrated the gist, Sudheer apparently did not connect much with it. But later, he read the same script all over again and loved it.
He adds a bit about his character: “I am quite opposite to Karthik (his character name), I am a sucker for sentiments.” As for his future plans, he says , “I am doing films step by step and not chasing larger-than-life roles at once..”
