When life imitates art
M.L. NARASIMHAM
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On Location Producer director Gunnam Gangaraju believes in doing things differently.
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CATCHING A POSE Shriya Reddy in `Amma Cheppindi'.
All films are not the same. There are some sensible ones as well. And that's the credo of producer-cum-director Gunnam Gangaraju. He wants his friends to be really different from the regular cinema and even manages to make it a box office hit. The latest from his Just Yellow banner is Amma Cheppindi, which is nearing completion. Apart from a song that needs to be filmed and a two-day work on the talkie part, the Gangaraju is currently busy conducting post-production work at his office in Road No. 72, Prashasan Nagar.
The state-of-the-art dubbing suit fulfils the company's film and TV serials production needs. Sitting on the console were the producer cum director, who was holding a sheaf of dialogue papers, and the sound engineer. As the scene is displayed on the television screen, the artiste reels out a quiver of punchy one-liners to match with the actor's lip sync. Through the talk back button, the director instructs the artiste to go for one more take. It seems even the artiste wants to improvise on his own performance.
So, the session starts again. The actor on the screen is Suman. But who is dubbing for him this time?
"He himself," says Gangaraju with a smile during the recess. "He is dubbing for himself for the first time. I feel that if he dubs his dialogue the expression on screen comes out better. Even his voice sounds good," he adds.
Talking about his new venture, he says, "It is a film about mother and son bonding. The story is set against the backdrop of Sriharikota Space Centre. I wrote the story about six years ago, complete with dialogue and screenplay. But it's only now that I could get a perfect cast." Suhasini plays the central role of a mother and Pawan Malhotra, who plays her husband, is director of SHAR. The couple have two sons, but the eldest son (Sarwanand) is special to her as he is more like a child.
Popular VJ and actor Shriya Reddy plays the role of a music teacher, who befriends Sarwananad after they meet accidentally. "Generally my films don't have too many characters, but this one is an exception. We have Suman in a key role as an ex-army officer who is a principal at a local school. Thanikella Bharani, Krishna Bhagawan and L.B. Sriram also have pivotal roles," explains Gangaraju.
It is not always art that imitates life; sometimes it can also be the other way round. Like in Gangaraju's case. " After we started shooting for the film, a news item appeared that a person allegedly with ISI links was caught with some documents in Sriharikota. Incidentally, there is a similar incident in our film too ," informs the director.
The film also marks the debut of Gangaraju's son Sandeep Gunnam's debut as a cinematographer. Sandeep has done a five-year course in film production with cinematography as major at the University of California.
His approach to filmmaking differs from others. " If I always follow the same pattern who will watch my films? I got to be different. Cinema, basically, is an entertainment medium and the audience at any time during the show should not feel bored. The screenplay plays a vital role here. But at the same time, there should be reasoning and logic behind every scene."
Meanwhile, his assistants are waiting outside the dubbing suit to discuss the song they will shoot on the city roads. "It will be shot in a four wheeler. After which, Suhasini will join us to complete the two-day talkie part," concludes the producer cum director as he opens the suit door.
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