Machismo's love story
M.L. NARASIMHAM
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Gopichand, the tough guy with a golden heart, meets the cop Ankitha in Udayashankar's new film.
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FEARED, BUT LOVABLE Meera Jasmine and Gopichand.
The street and the open spaces at Ramanaidu Studios, Nanakramguda metamorphosed into a basti with a cluster of shops and low-income group houses, thanks to a true-to-life work by art director Ashok and his team.
Cops' day out
Hero Gopichand sporting a rugged look, Ashish Vidyardhi in a cop's uniform and Ankitha as a sub inspector of police are on location for S.S.C. Arts' Raa Raju directed by Kalisundam raa... fame Udayashankar. From the conversation, one could gather that Ashish Vidyardhi is trying to implicate the hero in a false case. But the hero has some ace up his sleeve to teach the bad cop a lesson in the `arrest drama.'
A bemused Ankitha watches the wordy dual between her senior officer and Kali (Gopichand), the street smart guy whose name spells terror. After a couple of retakes, the director is content with the shot and orders `cut.'
"Kali runs a sound service system in his name. No one dares to wake him up in the morning, for if any untoward incident occurs on that day, he holds that person responsible. But if his day turns out to be good, he treats the person to sweets. Kali cannot tolerate injustice and at times, lands up at the police station as a result of his actions. Every time he comes to the station, the inspector (Ankitha) finds that he is right and begins to fall in love with him. We've shot two dream sequences in Bangkok," says Udayashankar.
Where does that leave Meera Jasmine, we ask. "She lives in the same basti. She enacts the role of Jyothi, a chorus singer. She is reserved and has a balanced outlook to life, which is in complete contrast to the hero," smiles the director.
Though feared, Kali is a lovable character and people in the area look up to him as their protector, informs the director. "He enjoys life and is content with his work until someone crosses his path. Venumadhav and M.S. Narayana are his assistants. He lends the sound system to a local politician (Jayaprakash Reddy) but invites his wrath. Trouble brews and the police come in search of Kali. In this sequence, the audience will get to see how Kali solves the problem. The role is tailor made for Gopichand. He is a director's actor," says Udayashankar, before moving on to discuss the next shot with cinematographer Ramnath Shetty.
The affable producer G.V.G. Raju, whose repertoire includes Gokulamlo Seetha, Toli Prema, Chirujallu and the recent Godavari says that he chooses his actors according to the story. "We have only a few heroes with rugged looks who suit different genres. Gopichand is one such actor. His body language suits this role. Sivaji makes a guest appearance and Chandramohan is cast in a key role. Manisharma's music is an added asset.The film will release in October."
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