'Priyamani has acted like a hero in Chandee'

Director V Samudra has quite a body of work to his credit, which includes remakes and original films. In the process he has directed some big actors.

Now Samudra is ready with his next film Chandee starring Priyamani in the lead role.

In this interview, the director throws some light on Chandee which is releasing this Friday, November 8.

What’s Chandee about?

It’s the journey of the girl.

How did you come to direct Chandee?

I had heard about Sreenu (the producer). His friends met me and asked me to do this project. Sreenu who set up OMICS has a reputation.

He wanted to do a message-oriented film. The writers wrote the script with my inputs, keeping in mind Sreenu’s reputation, and basing it on real incidents to give the public a thought-provoking film,

Chandee seems to be like a devotional title. Why did you name the film so?

I wanted to show that if a girl becomes a rebel, how far will she go? There are women like that in society who dare. Chandee is an inspirational title.

Did the film need research since you said it is based on real incidents?

Yes, this needed research. It looks at a freedom fighter’s and a farmer’s problem.

We show a woman is equal to a man in all respects. Women can do well in many fields. This film will inspire them.

Was Priyamani the first choice for the role?

We thought only of her. So far, woman-centric films have the horror touch. Here there is no horror. We took natural problems.

How did you think of casting actors like Krishnam Raju, Sarath Kumar and Ashish Vidyarthi in this film?

Only Krishnam Raju can play the character of a freedom fighter.

Sarath Kumar has acted in all languages. He plays a supporting character that helps Priyamani’s character in business. Ashish Vidyarthi indulges in villainy.

How has Priyamani performed?

Priyamani acted like a hero in this film. She got into the hero mould.

She has said her dialogues very well. These were dialogues like what the late NTR, Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna had said, and Priyamani said it like they did.

She is a national award winner and a good artiste. I am proud of the fact that she did this film. She never once said, I can’t do this.

You have an item number also in this film...

Scarlett does this dance. It will be a mass attraction

You are conducting a Chandee yagam....

We kept a powerful title and did a pooja for Ammoru (the goddess) at Srisailam so that there would be no obstacles. We are also doing the Chandee yagam today.

What can the audience expect from the film?

A different attempt at story telling, which has not been done before. One has seen Krishnam Raju acting as a rebel before. One will see him at this age doing so.

Priyamani’s fights and dialogues will be a highlight besides Sarath Kumar’s performance.