2 November 2022
Hyderabad
From a young age, Maanyam Krishna harboured dreams of donning the greasepaint and when he read an article in vernacular newspaper advertising for the role of a Brahmin boy in a K Viswanath film, he sent his pictures pronto without letting his parents know. He was studying VI standard back then. While it’s another story that his dad gave him a dressing-down once he got a wind of what his son was up to; acting was something that he wanted to pursue. “Growing up, people around would compliment me for my looks, while simultaneously asking me to try in the industry. Overtime though I’ve decided that I had to act,” Krishna tells us.
The lanky actor is presently looking forward to the release of Jetty, which unspools this Friday in picture houses. A diehard fan of Venkatesh, Krishna was offered Jetty when he completed 50 percent of what would’ve been his first film Mr. Kalyan, which ran into financial woes after the halfway stage. “It was through a friend, I sent my pictures to Jetty director Subrahmanyam. Impressed by my portfolio, he narrated the story later. The producer Venu Madhav confirmed my casting the next day,” he recalls fondly.
Krishna runs an NGO called 100 Dreams Foundation, which is into a lot of activities. “We offer Rs 1 meal everyday to 25 people through the NGO at Bangarupalyam, which is 25 kms away from Chittoor. So far, we distributed 28,500 meals as a part of our activities. In fact, the role in Jetty—of a socio-conscious teacher, who believes in doing good to whichever village he is transferred to— was close to what I do in real life. So I immediately latched on to it,” he smiles.
He goes on to add that Jetty, which is a wooden or stone structure built in the water at the edge of a sea and used by people getting on and off boats, discusses an issue that is prevalent all over the globe. “It tells how the fishing community is suffering without a jetty. There is a reason why we preferred to set the film in Kataripalem and Ramapuram. People over there still follow old-age traditions to survive despite the scientific advancement. A wise man (MS Chowdary) still sways over them, while Nandita Swetha plays his daughter. How my part helps the father-daughter duo in realizing their dream for the village amid threats from Mime Gopi’s role forms the story. I consider myself lucky to be a part of a film which discusses a social issue,” he maintains.
Filmed in Chirala, Kataripalem, Vadarevu, Bapatla and RFC, Jetty was completed in 33 days. “It was wrapped up in a single schedule beginning in November (of 2020) and ending in December. We shot songs for 10 days, action part in six days and talkie portions in remaining days. And the credit for the pace should go to cameraman Veeramani, who was Ratnavelu’s first assistant on films like Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, Rangasthalam and 1: Nenokkadine. In fact, his expertise and experience also helped us to film our songs differently to each other. We recently met director Gopichand Malineni to show our trailer. And as we were leaving after he watched the trailer, he stopped us and saw the trailer again. He was particularly impressed with some of the boat shots in the trailer, saying he couldn’t capture them for a film of his because of certain issues back then. He enquired about the cinematographer and appreciated Veeramani garu,” Krishna explains.
Krishna has already landed his third film, which is a Tamil venture. He will be rubbing shoulders with veteran Sathyaraj in the film, a crime-drama. “It is based on real incidents that transpired in Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu and narrates the story of a rowdy who exercised control over 40 villages. Sathyaraj sir is playing a cop and 40 percent of his portions have been wrapped up already. The director was on the lookout for a villain who was tall. Veeramani, who was the cinematographer on the film, referred my name to the director. After going through some of my pictures, the director was convinced that I fit the part. He told me the story later. I will join the film in another 10 days,” he says joyously.
Krishna has also written a script, 100 Pipers, a romantic entertainer peppered with a generous dose of humour. He already has a producer for it. “I’m looking for one more hand to take it to the floors,” he concludes.
-NAGARAJ GOUD
