Director Nageswara Reddy couldn’t sustain the success of Eedo Rakam, Aado Rakam (2016).. His next two films Intlo Deyyam Nakem Bhayam and Achari America Yatra couldn’t match up to his brand of comedy. The director concurs, “However good the comedy is, if the story doesn’t match upto it, the film won’t work. Similarly, if the story is fabulous and the presentation is not good, it’s a wasted effort. Now I assure you that Tenali Ramakrishna is going to be 100 percent hilarious.”
He adds that once the audience gets involved in the story within the first 15 minutes, then the film is in control. "So once people get connected, even a small joke will make them laugh aloud. The title ‘Tenali Ramakrishna’ gives rise to lot of expectations — people will naturally think it will be a laugh riot and I'm confident of satisfying them. The film is about a man who is so awed by the poet Tenali Ramakrishna that he names his son after the poet. But the son disappoints his father but just when everyone writes him off, he surprises them with his courage."
He adds, "How he fulfils his father’s dream is the story. All the qualities that the poet is known for — wit, wisdom, saving people from grave situations — are seen in the protagonist played by Sundeep Kishan. Just as Tenali Ramakrishna saves Krishnadevarayulu from danger, the hero too does the same and there’s comedy that runs around it. The tagline of the title is BA B.L.”
The director promises comedy from frame one to the climax. Bhavani Prasad, who wrote the dialogues for Jakanna, and Niwas are the writers. Rajasimha who had earlier directed Oka Ammayi Tappa for Sundeep Kishan, has given the story and Nageswara Reddy had changed the characters to suit his style. Posani, Saptagiri and Satya Krishna form a funny team, the latter especially belongs to a family that survives on giving false witness stories. The track is about how she gets caught. The film has been shot mostly in Kurnool and Hyderabad. Sai Sreeram is the cinematographer and Sai Kartheek is the music director.
