A fitting tribute to Konda
M. L. NARASIMHAM
|
`Kokila' is director Kondalarao's swan song.
|
DREAM PROJECT Saloni and Raja in this stylish celluloid statement on love
Like all blossoming directors he had a dream too - to make a stylish celluloid statement on love. Taking a central point from a writer's (Prithviteja) story he penned a script that his producers found extremely interesting and his team of young heroes were overawed by its new feel. The project was launched and the shoot progressed at a rapid pace, as racy as the entertaining script. When everything was going his way, fate played a foul trick. On those early hours of December 6 , he was snatched away but his dream lives on. By then Konda (B. Kondalarao) had completed the talkie portions for Sri Jyothi Creation's Kokila produced by G. Ravikumar Reddy and Manyam Ramesh.
Just two days before his untimely death, Konda was supervising the filming of a song on Raja and Saloni at Sakaleshpura near Hassan in Karnataka. Ramesh Krishna, who earlier shot the edge of the seat entertainer A Film By Arvind was behindthe camera. At the launch he said he would follow the lighting pattern for the scenes according to the mood and behaviour of the characters.
The duet in the shoot emanates from an illusion from the hero's angle. "Three college students (Raja, Rajeev Kanakala and Siva Balaji) are room mates and friends. They fall in love with the same girl (Saloni). The three join the college where she is studying without the knowledge of the other. They try different modes to win her and in the process create problems for each other.
Suhasini and Archana are the other two heroines and have a major role to play in the second half. "Before we came here (Sakaleshpura) we filmed the introductory song on the three heroes and Saloni in Goa. We completed the talkie portions at different locations in Hyderabad," says Ramesh. "It was while this shot was being shot that Konda returned to Hyderabad to supervise the final editing and mixing. I was with him at the editing suite till 11 p.m. He was to leave the next day to filming one more song at Bangalore. And suddenly I get the news at 2.45 a.m. that he fell from his bed and was gasping for breath. He was rushed to the nearby hospital and in ten minutes everything was over," Ramesh said, his voice choked with emotion. Both started their careers at Nagendra Babu's Anjana Productions and knew each other for over seven years. "His talent came to the fore while we were working for the mega serial Sarada," continues Ramesh.
"Ninne Ishtapaddanu was his first film. He wanted to make his debut with this story. He was so confident of the subject. It is a clean entertainer. There are no separate comic characters. The incidents that develop between the three heroes provide the humour. We launched the film with the title, Clean Bowled. Now we have changed the title. Kokila is an apt title too as the entire movie's plot hovers around one character, Saloni." Ramesh adds that Konda's former colleague at Anjana and good friend V. N. Aditya have come forward to complete the remaining work. "He is taking care of the post production, filming of the bits and pieces of patch work and the remaining song. It is a nice gesture on his part."
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
