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'Anthaka Mundhu...Aa tharuvatha is a romatic drama'

National award-winning director Indraganti Mohanakrishna has taken his time to make his fourth film.

Titled Anthaka Mundhu...Aa tharuvatha, starring Sumanth Ashwin and debutante Esha, it is up for release this Friday, August 23.

In this exclusive conversation, the auteur gives us a peek into the film, his choice of cast and what he would like to do next.

Your last film Golconda High School (GHS) released in January 2011. Why did it take you so long to make Anthaka Mundhu...Aa tharuvatha?

I was supposed to do another film, which did not materialise as the writing was not satisfactory.

During GHS days Damodar garu (producer of Ala Modalaindi) asked me if I had a story. I pitched one in 2012. It acquired a shape in May 2012 and by September the script was locked.

This seems to be an original story. Your previous films, Grahanam and Golconda High School, were adaptations of books, and Ashta Chamma was based on an Oscar Wilde play.

I have written it. There are no inspirations.

'The film is semi-autobiographical'

Is this film a love story?

I would call it a romantic drama. It’s not just about a couple falling in love. It also sees how a couple understands each other. When you start sharing a life you build a relationship with hard work.

Romance is putting your best foot forward and declaring your love. When commitment comes, the guard begins to fall. We come under pressure. Marriage is a personal, individual relationship. You have to make it work. That is the concept around which it is written.

Is the film based on real life experiences?

Many instances have happened to me or to people I know. It is semi-autobiographical. I have also incorporated cynical views about marriage to make a comprehensive picture.

The first half is all rosiness, the magical part. Then the real thing happens. The actual story begins after the couple commit. Will love survive the vagaries of marriage?

'Newcomers dont come with any baggage'

What made you choose Sumanth Ashwin, who is just one film old, and a debutante Esha? Did you want relative newcomers?

If there are newcomers, there is absence of baggage. There is freshness too. Sumanth has that vulnerability and the arrogance. He is pampered and learns the hard way in the film.

Esha is the girl next door but pretty. I found her on Facebook. I met her and found she was a Telugu girl who had done modelling but had zero experience in acting. I did a screen test and had a two-month workshop where there were readings.

You have brought in Madhubala (of Roja fame) after so many years. Why did you select her to play the heroine’s mother?

There was a similarity between their faces. It was a random idea. I told her the story on the phone. She liked it and accepted. She said ‘since it’s a national-award winning director I am in safe hands’.

She came fully prepared as I had sent voice clips with my recording, and we shot in no time. She did the part well.

Kalyani Malik (now Kalyani Koduri) has been a constant as a music composer.

We share the same taste in music and enormous common interests. We love old Hindi songs too.

''Making the film has been emotionally exhausting'

How would you describe the filming experience?

It was emotionally exhausting in terms of making the actors do what you want. I was able to shape Esha, create her. I am eager to see how the industry takes her.

Anything special about this film?

It’s a personal film and close to my heart emotionally as it’s a story I wanted to tell. There are different people belonging to different strata in the film and there were challenges in building relationships.

Why aren’t you making movies as fast as the others?

This year I want to make one more film. It takes time since I write the script myself or adapt stories from literature.

Have you thought about your next project?

I have made a comic caper, another was a literary adaptation. I would like to do a whacky, funny, entertainer and maybe a film on physical violence.