04 December -2020
Hyderabad
In the just concluded Utah Film Festival (19-21 Nov 2020), Nuvvu Thopu Raa got the ‘Best Feature Film’award in the ‘Made in Utah-Feature’ category.
While it was being made, Nuvvu Thopu Raa was in the news many times as the team took some innovativesteps. For the first time in the Telugu film industry, they made a ‘Proof of Concept’ video to announce themaking of the film. Then a teaser was released by Vijay Deverakonda. Later, Prabhas released a trailer.Geetha Distribution took up the release of the film in theatres.
In its release on digital platforms, the film has emerged as a hit. It is popular on Amazon Prime and Ahavideo; on YouTube it has recorded 2.5-million-plus views with hundreds of favourable and encouragingcomments.
With this special award, Nuvvu Thopu Raa is again in the news. 70% of the movie was filmed in Utah State,USA, and 30% in India. So, in the Utah Film Festival and Awards-2020, it was nominated in the ‘Made inUtah-Feature’ category and emerged the winner with the ‘Best Feature Film’ award.
The Utah Film Festival was scheduled to be held in April 2020 but got postponed due to the Coronapandemic. The organisers recently held the festival online from 19 to 21 November 2020.
Warren Workman, the festival’s lead organiser, remarked in the Q and A session held online for NuvvuThopu Raa, “The festival’s generally critical judges gave a very high rating for this movie’s direction,screenplay, cinematography and music.”
On receiving the award, Director Harinath Babu said, “I will always remember how the producers, Srikanth,James Watt and Ritesh Kumar, did not hesitate to spend whatever was necessary to ensure we made agood movie. If we are able to take this award today, the credit should go to them. As a resident of Utah,James Watt was of great help in the filming in Utah; he also helped us get the movie released in a grandmanner through Geetha Distribution. I also thank Sudhakar, the hero of the film - it is because of him that Imade, in the US, my debut film as director. Thank you, each one of you, the cast and crew of Nuvvu ThopuRaa, both Indian and American, who worked with me with such dedication. I thank the American people ofUtah, including the Telugu community there, for their warm support.”
According to the co-producer, James Watt, “I am absolutely delighted that we’ve got this award. Thedirector, Harinath Babu, is very talented and intelligent. He had the ability to get the best out of the cast andcrew of both Indians and Americans. I thank Sudhakar, Nitya Shetty and the entire team whose hard workhelped us produce this film. I also thank the judges of the festival and the organisers led by WarrenWorkman. Utah is a beautiful place and am happy we have been able to introduce Utah to the Telugu filmindustry. I will always remember the tremendous support given by the American people, including theTelugu community, of Utah.”
Delighted about the award, the film’s hero Sudhakar felt his wife, Harika, should also get some credit for thedecision to make the film in Utah. As Harika had moved to the US on work, he had suggested to thedirector, Harinath, that they plan the script with locations in the US. He thanked all who had played theirpart in the making of the movie.
Concludes the director, Harinath, “Time now for your shoutout to the Nuvvu Thopu Raa team. If you haven'tseen this award-winning movie, you can see it online on YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Aha. If you have seenit, check it out once more to see why it has been given the Best Feature Film award. I look forward to yourfeedback.”
