Not-so-sweet sixteen
M.L. Narasimham
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Debutant director A.R. Raja Rajan's film is a love story that revolves around the thrills and spills of teenage romance.
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YOUNG LOVE Navdeep and Jenny in a romantic scene.
Thanks to the recent downpour, the river Adyar, once Chennai's pride, is again brimming with water. The sprawling complex of St. Patrick's School on the banks of the river presents a tranquil scene. But a group of howling men, armed with sickles and cricket stumps, rush towards the mammoth iron gates of the school, disturbing the calm atmosphere.
We managed to sneak into the complex through a side gate. Once inside we felt secure and relaxed. There was nothing to worry about that . The menacing men were only stunt actors shooting a key scene for Sri Raja Rajeswari Combines's untitled `Prod. No. 3'. "They are out to take with them the heroine (played by child artiste-turned-heroine Sheela), a plus two student from the school, at the instance of her vicious brother-in-law (Prithvi)," says debut director A.R. Raja Rajan with a smile.
He checks the scene through a monitor while his co-director, the much experienced N.B. Chakravarthy, guides the stuntmen to put up a more aggressive display. A similar scene had been shot a few weeks ago at Malkipuram in the Godavari belt in a junior college. Apart from the hero (Navdeep) and the heroine, Jenny, Chitram Srinu, Krishna Bhagawan and Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam were spotted there. For the current shoot, the last two actors were replaced by Tamil actors Manobala and Pattabhi Bhaskar. "We are making the film in dual versions - Telugu and Tamil," informs the writer-turned-director. "We shot most of the talkie portions and songs at Lakkavaram, Malkipuram, Razole and Palakollu. It is amazing the way the people at Malkipuram extended their cooperation. The junior college permitted us to shoot after they heard the subject," he continues, sipping lemon tea.
"It is difficult for teens to differentiate between infatuation and love. This is a story of two such teenagers. How the district Collector (Suhasini) gets involved in the romance and advises them to first concentrate on their studies and then decide on their life partners forms the main theme." With the unit moving inside to shoot a scene near a classroom we spotted small screen's popular vamp Bhuvaneswari getting the final touches to her make-up. Jenny was sitting in a chair and relaxing while Sheela was waiting in the classroom to give her shot.
"Jenny plays principal in both the versions along with Bhuvaneswari, the lecturer. The heroine belongs to a rich family with Vijayakumar and Sangeetha as her parents. Popular television show hostess and actor Surekhavani plays her elder sister. `Subhalekha' Sudhakar is the hero's father and Manorama his grandmother.
Grand finale
The lead pair hail from different towns and first meet at the junior college. "You will hear a fresh tone in Manisharma's music and Selva's camera work is an added advantage. For the climax fight, we needed a huge pipeline that runs into thousand feet. From here, we will move to Senji to film a song on the lead pair and then move to Thenkasi to shoot the climax." He would like to put his debut film in the class of Mahendran and Bharathiraja's films.
So will it be one more Seethakoka chiluka? "Wait and watch," he says with a wink and excuses himself to move towards the shooting area. Clad in the traditional half-sari, Sheela sports an `acha telugu ammayi' look. But then that's the way the makers of the National Award winning film Swarabhishekam want their movies to be - traditional wholesome family entertainers. "It is a youthful film. How the adolescents are influenced by teen trends and resultant consequences, parental guidance and concern are discussed in this tender love story. It is a film for all," say producers Hari Gopala Krishnamurthy and C. Kausalendra Rao.
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