26 May 2023
Hyderabad
In an exclusive conversation with idlebrain.com, filmmaker MS Raju opens about the box office performance of his last film, 7 Days 6 Nights, writing Malli Pelli, working with Naresh as an actor and producer, how his definition of love changed over the years and his next, Sati
MS Raju had pinned a lot of hopes on his last release, 7 Days 6 nights but it sank without a trace at the box office. The multi-hyphenate, however, maintains that the film was primarily meant for the OTT audience and it was the folks at the platform who wanted a theatrical release. “So we targeted a limited number of theatres. Finally, we added 20 more extra theatres. OTT kind of films will not do well in theatres and that’s what happened with 7 Days 6 nights. After three-four weeks, it started streaming on the OTT and reached the mark I anticipated,” he tells idlebrain.com.
He is now looking forward to the release of Malli Pelli, featuring Naresh Vijaya Krishna and Pavitra Lokesh. It is releasing Friday. “Initially I was thinking of another story with Naresh when Malli Palli thought crossed my mind. They both were okay when I pitched it. I sat on the script later, finished the screenplay and we went to floors within no time,” he reveals, adding that if it’s a regular Naresh-Pavitra film, there wouldn’t have been interviews about the film on Thursday as well. “You all know why there is hype surrounding the project. It’s because of the pair and maybe the audiences think the story resembles their life because of the shots the trailer has.”
A lot of what happens in the trailer seems to have been borrowed from Naresh’s personal life. How much of it is fact and fiction? “We haven’t revealed anything so far and I don’t intend to do it now. It’s hardly hours away from a release. It’s better to watch it in theatres,” he grins.
To a question on what were the challenges of adapting a material which is in the public domain and make it appealing to a large section of the audience through a motion picture form, he added, “Writing the story required a strong heart, mind and focus. I’ve given my best to the project. We are not Gods to predict the outcome or foresee the film’s performance in a certain way. As a human being, whatever is best for the film, I’ve done it.”
Raju is not in a mood to rank the film among the ones he directed in terms of challenge and difficulty. “I don’t want to compare. Whatever I do, I give it my best. I’ve put in the same effort for all my films. Sometimes the story and screenplay sit well with the film, sometimes they don’t. MS Raju, Puri Jagannadh etc do the same hard work. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I have to see tomorrow if some of my out-of-the-box ideas will click with the audience or not. You cannot judge the outcome of such ideas. You have to visit theatres to find it out. If such ideas click, the film will do well,” he states.
He admits to have loved working with Naresh. “We know about him as an actor but as a producer he surprised me. He said yes to everything. The budget exceeded slightly but he hasn’t compromised on the vision I had for the film. He has given me whatever I needed for the story. He knows I’m a person who doesn’t waste money. I thought he would feel bad that we crossed the budget but he didn’t. As a human being, he is perfect. I basically love him. I know him in and out, which helped me to make the film with him in a better way. Only when we love an actor, we can think about the story and screenplay in the right way and work hard,” he marvels.
Continuing in the same vein, he adds, “Naresh’s performance in Malli Pelli will rank among his best. He is a good actor who generally gives his 100 percent. When everyone clapped for his 100 percent, I asked for 150 percent and without any complaints, he performed again. That one take made a lot of difference.”
About the film, a mature love story of a middle-aged couple (played by Naresh and Pavitra), he doesn’t want to give away the plotline even though the trailer gives out a lot. “There will be an unexpected story in the film. Also, there are a lot of surprises in store for the audience. Many might think Malli Pelli is a comedy but it has intense drama scenes,” he shares.
As a producer, Raju made a career out of love stories like Manasantha Nuvve, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana and Varsham and as a director as well, he made love stories like Vaana and Tuneega Tuneega. When asked how his definition of love changed over the years, he said, “Love is the same. The only problem is whether you love or not.”
He, however, agrees that we never outgrow the need for love and companionship regardless of age or circumstances. “I’ve already said that more than the first half, the second half should be better whether in life or in cinema,” he points out.
If given a chance, what retake would he wish for in his life, we ask him. “Not a retake but I’d like to do a film like Devi again. Also, I don’t regret anything that happened. We have to move on and do another film,” he states.
Next up for him will be the release of Sati, featuring his son Sumanth Ashwin in the lead. It will drop on an OTT platform directly during the end of next month. “We make some films for OTT and Sati was one,” he signs off.
-NAGARAJ GOUD
