Nearly two decades after Hyderabad Blues and Dollar Dreams released, we have another film on the American dream. Pressure Cooker, directed by Sujoi Karampuri and his brother Sushil, is a take on the life of NRI families. “The theme of the desis’ American dream can be recurring, as the issues keep changing. Tharun Bhasckar who saw the film said it is the most comprehensive film on NRIs so far, because we didn’t bother to be politically correct. People left India in the 80s and 90s in droves, and by now their parents would have gotten quite old; that angle hasn’t been dealt in seriousness. Parents tend to push their kids to the U.S. so that they are successful and they can feel proud of them. What happens when they go and when the parents need them the most? However, that is not the only element. There is romance, friendship; there is this boy who is confused, he doesn’t know if he should follow his passion or go abroad. The heroine is strong in her convictions. She is like an anchor and he is like a storm. She questions his assumptions and punctures it with cute dialogues.”
Sujoi shares more. “When the boy’s goal is questioned he says it is going to America. The girl laughs and wonders how reaching a place can be a goal.” There is a love story. The initial brush is rough but over a period of time they like each other because of their value systems. Their conflicts come to the fore in the end. A story of the boy who wants to follow his dreams in his country, allowing the children to follow their passion and the girl who doesn’t want to marry an NRI — sounds refreshing...
The whole movie is in Telangana dialect. Sujoi says, “That is what I speak at home. We wrote the script three years ago, even before Pelli Choopulu . My brother and I were patient with the project. Doing a good product was of paramount importance, we did some previews, re-shooting the scenes, restructuring ..we went through all of that.”
Sujoi and Sushil’s friend Shyam is also an important part of the project who helped with the script. The selling point is its originality. It has a compelling emotional story and is being promoted as a new-age family entertainer.
The film stars Sai Ronak, Rahul Ramakrishna and Preethi Asrani. The directors hails from Warangal and are touring Andhra for promotions. Says Sujoi, “We always have this perception that audience back mainstream commercial blockbusters but when Pelli choopulu was received well, we knew they would like our movie too. There is a lot of content that connects to common people. We tried to make it authentic and realistic. It is a story of collective experiences, some of it is from mine, some from my brother.”
Pressure Cooker is scheduled to release on February 21.
