Strange are the ways of love
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The shooting of Premikulu is fast progressing at the beach locales around Visakhapatnam.
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TALENT SHOW Kamna and Yuvraj make their debut, along with a host of others.
To avoid shoot in the sweltering sun, some producers prefer hill stations during summer. But the gutsy unit of Super Hit Friends piloted by the only Telugu female filmmaker around, B. Jaya chose the beaches of Bhimli and Yerada near Vizag to film a song sequence and a few scenes on the debutant lead pair Yuvaraj and Kamna Jethmalani for their third production, Premikulu. Today, most film titles are not complete without a tagline. Jaya who wrote the story, screenplay and dialogues (along with V. Srinivas) too preferred a tag, `but they don't know each other'.
"That's where the twist to the story lies," smiles Jaya talking about the title and the tag as we travel from the city to Yerada in the air-conditioned comfort of a Qualis. The unit gets up early beating the sunrise and reaches the location daily by 6 a.m. . Fifteen minutes later, the shoot starts on dot each day. Perfect planning is the forte of Jaya and her producer husband B.A. Raju, be it their publications or films. As we climb down the hill, we see Yerada village and the beach.
Confident couple
"We know film business is a risky proposition these days. But we still chose to make this film with newcomers. Absolute confidence with the subject made us take this bold decision. Yuvaraj is a Telugu settled in Mumbai. Kamna is the granddaughter of famed lawyer Ram Jethmalani. Rishi Girish is another debutant in the second lead role. Sajan, an associate of A.R. Rahman, makes his Telugu debut as music director. He is the son of veteran Malayalam film composer Ravindran. So we are introducing a lot of new talents like the last time we did with my debut directorial venture, Chantigaadu, says Jaya as we reach the location.
Surprisingly, at the beach, cool breeze welcomes us. "It is like this for the past two days even at the beaches of Rishi Konda and Bhimli where we shot a portion of this song that comes in a sea backdrop," informs the director as she moves towards her camerawoman C. Vijayasri. On the sets, it is difficult to keep pace with her. Agile and vigilant, she talks to each and every one of the 70-member strong unit through the microphone giving instructions. Choreographer Swarna is teaching the dance steps to the lead pair.
"It is easy and comfortable to work with such talented female counterparts. Both are brilliant in their work. The chauvinism is not there and there is more bonhomie between me and my camerawoman who comes up with innovative ideas," smiles Jaya.
Many first-timers
The song Kanula Mundu Neevunte Kanureppe Padanantondi rendered by Naveen is played on the nagaara signalling the start of the shoot. Naveen too makes his debut with this film and guess who wrote the song! Baladitya, the hero of Chantigaadu, turns a lyricist here. It is his first lyric, a melody. "Though it is a duet, I conceived it in such a style that the female voice is heard only in mischievous laughter. In the song, the images of the hero are real and the heroine unreal.
That means the heroine enters the frames as imagined by the hero. Of the six songs, this comes as the fifth in the movie.
Till month end, we will be filming a few scenes too with the lead pair and other major artistes," informs the director as she views the artistes perform through the television screen. It is 9 a.m. and breakfast time. The five-course breakfast is served along with fruit and vegetable juices.
Jaya is all smiles when she says, "To beat the heat we preferred watermelon, carrot, mango and other juices to the traditional tea and coffee. Since the work is starting early and progressing smoothly, we have a two-hour lunch between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. too. Still, we are able to complete the day's work as planned, all because of our dedicated team."
Yes, there was not even an iota of the tension we noticed at Perupalem beach while she was shooting for her maiden directorial venture l ast year. She is cool, composed and relaxed .
"Not just I, my entire unit is happy to shoot here. Contrary to what some people said, it is so pleasant here reflecting the tone of our love thriller," concludes Jaya.
M.L. NARASIMHAM
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