Producer SKN of Taxiwala and Baby has undertaken a series of movie projects. As he turns a year older, in this birthday week, he talks about his projects, and various issues concerning the film industry.
As a fan of Megastar Chiranjeevi, I wanted to do anything that would endear me to him and his family. Later on, someone advised me to become a journalist so that I could eventually do PR for Charan garu or Bunny garu. That's how it all began. Maruthi is the person who pushed me to do something more. When he asked me to think beyond PR, we collaborated together to produce Ee Rojullo, which became a blockbuster.
The Hindi remake of Baby will be shot in a full-fledged manner from August. In Bollywood, they plan the pre-production extensively, unlike in Tollywood. Pre-production has been on for the past one year. Remakes can work if done well. Wasn't the Hindi remake of Arjun Reddy a big hit? An advantage we have is that Baby hasn't been streaming on any big national platform. Baby is a universal point. Youngsters of all genders will connect with it. The Hindi version is going to be more raw and intense.
Chennai Love Story (Kiran Abbavaram, Sri Gouri Priya) is going to go on the floors soon. We are also introducing a debut director named Krishna through another project. Avinash, who has worked on Hari Hara Veera Mallu, will direct a movie under my banner. A Telugu hero and a Kannada hero will headline it. I will be collaborating with Maruthi after The Raja Saab. Another collaboration with Sai Rajesh is on the cards. On Aha, my 3 Roses (Season 2) will start streaming in a couple of months.
A script must excite me. The scale and budget don't matter to me. Two of the movies I have taken up are not high-budgeted. But in terms of their potential impact, they are big. At the end of the day, content is what matters. The audience are not going to take our words at face value. Cinema is a high-stakes, risky business. You might earn a bonanza or the opposite might happen if something goes wrong. This is like doing a 'Savasanam' on a bed of thorns! Cinema is my only occupation. I am not into real estate and all of that! When theatres were locked down during the pandemic in 2020, I felt suffocated...
I have always enjoyed whatever I took up in life - journalism, PR, and the later works. As a PRO, I would think up innovative promotional strategies. Since I come from a middle-class background, I am excited to do new things. As a producer, my focus has been on bankrolling movies on a tight budget.
My association with Bunny Vasu has been long. His script sense, his command over editing and music taste is what I have learned from him. He can handle any situation.
The teaser of The Raja Saab has amazed everyone. The fans got to know what the movie is going to be. The Prabhas we have missed in the last ten years won't be missed any longer. Currently, the film is being shot at Ramoji Film City. It's a horror-fantasy, not just a horror-comedy.
Allu Arjun garu plans to do two movies a year. In the next 1.5 years, he wants to shoot for two movies. He wants to speed up. Atlee's movie has been shot at a fast pace. The rumoured project with Basil Joseph is something I don't know about. The hero is busy in Mumbai these days. He will finalize his line-up after he gets some time.
There is a need to change the way we approach the cinema business. Audience tastes have changed. We need to align with their tastes. Without the pandemic, this change would have taken another decade. Because of the relentless exposure to content laced with plot twists, the audience are expecting more.
Remunerations have gone up in recent years due to a surge in non-theatrical revenue streams. Lately, these streams are slowly drying up. So, the remunerations need to go down.
The most ideal thing for the film industry is films doing well in cinema halls. We have to go back to our roots. We have to think from the theatre business perspective.
In Malayalam, movies have started doing Rs 100 Cr, Rs 200 Cr. If the content is good, the sky's the limit for Hindi films. Tollywood should scrutinize the OTT culture here. Telugu films are available in two weeks or four weeks. Ticket rates are being hiked. Families are not interested in theatres. Most of the audience are middle-class people, who run on tight budgets. If this continues, single screens will turn into function halls.
I have no plans to direct a movie. I am surrounded by directors (like Sai Rajesh and Maruthi) already. Where I am standing, I never imagined it! More than dreaming, I believe in result-oriented action. I never dreamt of producing movies, but I am doing it. Every career has a promotional phase. I don't know what my next phase is going to be. Only time will tell the answer.
