June 12 , 2007

Six-pack mania in Tollywood exploded with Allu Arjun’s Desamuduru. Now, it is one-and-half-year-old in Tollywood. The limit even got graduated to an 8-pack. Its influence is gradually thinning down, holding little or no interest to some of our Tollywood heroes. The rage for abs did bring wades of currency to many gyms in Hyderabad. Special coaches flew down in city all the way from Mumbai and Hong Kong.

All this torturous muscle fixing or shedding has no bearing on one hero. Allari Naresh. His latest film Dongala Bandi shows him spoofing the trend. First time, Allari Naresh with six packs, says a frame (showing the rear of the hero). The immediate card follows – He tried, but didn’t work out. So this way … The lanky hero with Six Gold Flake Cigarette packs. The display at the launch turned out to be a big crowd puller. The majority immediately got the point that it is a parody of the waning trend. The Cigarette packs showed as abs made a few others think that it is also a satirical form of attack on the smokers.

Idea from Hero’s Experience
Director Vegesna Satish told Idlebrain that their idea of spoofing 6-packs was a very recent one. “Naresh and I were at the last leg of our story discussions. Naresh casually said that some people had asked him whether he was interested in developing six-packs. Saying so, he laughed at length. Suddenly, I took the thread from his laugh. Why can’t we develop a satire on this? We thought that way. And we introduced it on the spot.”

Painful process rendered waste sometimes
“I have little knowledge about this packs-management. But, I know it is a very painful process. Even after thorough drill at it, some may not get the required shapes. In film industry, it’s done with a purpose – a commercial point that could help become talk of the masses. In reality, it’s not relevant to anybody, except for professional wrestlers or body builders.”

“We want to show the mania in a very gentle and satirical manner. It is not our intention to hurt anyone. It’s purely for fun,” he said.

Why does Naresh try for 6-packs?
“The heroine asks the lanky hero – If you are really a man, come with 6-pack abs (Nuvvu nijanga magadivaithe, six packs tho vachhi kanipinchu). The hero says he would definitely have six packs. Fixing six cigarette packs on his hollow abdomen, the hero shows the same to the heroine. The episode will run for a couple of minutes. Though it’s a casual scene, I hope it will spill laughter in the theatres. That’s it,” the director said.

Heroes waiting to show their mettle
Meanwhile, two heroes are in the waiting to show their packs to the audiences: Nitin (in ready for release film Victory) and Sairam Shankar (forthcoming film with his brother Puri Jagannath). Heroes like Mahesh Babu and Ram said they were not interested to put on the packs.