Flipping the coin for a story
M.L. NARASIMHAM
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`Manodu' Ram presents the two sides of the coin.
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ALL FOR ENTERTAINMENT `Toss' explores the human psyche.
He knows how to get what he want from almost anybody, add to that his creative ability as an adman of close to three decades, you have the affable `Priyadarshini' Ram at the helm on location at Ramanaidu Studios, Nanakramguda, wielding the megaphone for his second directorial venture, Toss. The film stars Raja, Upendra, Kamna Jethmalani and Priyamani in the lead. On the police station set, the director is busy talking to child actors Shiva Varma and Harshitha as cinematographer Surendra Reddy along with his assistants checksthe lights. After a few retakes Ram finally gets what he wants from the little stars. In the next shot, the children run out of the station and the camera follows them. Ram nods in affirmation and the shot is okayed.
"It is a childhood episode of Upendra and Priyamani. The kids are trapped and attacked by the antagonist Chaptrapati Katraju. They escape. As he grows up Upendra carries the trauma with him. Generally, childhood impressions stay forever. In the next block we will be shooting the childhood episode of Raja," Ram shares the scene. His present venture is made on a bigger scale than his debut film, Manodu. "It all depends on the subject you choose. The canvas is much larger here. It explores the human psyche. Every person has two shades. We tend to look at somebody from our point of view. So we see only one shade but the other shade is revealed only under highly emotional circumstances. It stuns us. Looking beyond the persona is like tossing a coin. Thus was born the title Toss and there is a tag line - Bomma Borusa ... head or tail the two shades of the same man," his briefing is interspersed with annayya at intervals demanding one's attention. Upendra plays the anti-hero and for a change Raja does some action sequences too. "Though he is an anti-hero, you love him in the end. His rough behaviour is driven by his earlier life. There is a strong reason behind it. His is a very special character. Raja is savvy, very romantic guy with a clean image. They are two sides of the same coin. For the first time Raja participates in a couple of choreographed natural action scenes." The conversation then shifts to the heroines - Kamna and Priyamani. "They are driven by the characters. The kind of emotions they are required to showcase suits their body language. Kamna is glamorous, bubbly and energetic. Priyamani is homely and performance oriented actor. They are again two sides of the same coin," he smiles.
Ram puts his work on par with a Manmohan Desai-entertainer, "large canvas, earthy emotions, not too dramatic, enjoyable. At the same time I am not running away from reality and honesty, my chosen path from my debut film. The only difference is it is on a much wider spectrum than Manodu. Even the music (Manisharma) has new notes and notations, stylish yet melodic. In totality call it an eccentric presentation," he laughs."Upendra takes lot of time before agreeing to do a film. It takes that much time for him to arrive at the right script. He gave me 10 minutes to narrate the subject. But sat glued from 6 to 11 in the evening and said `for the first time someone has come with a convincing narration at one go', and nodded his head in affirmation." Ram feels the title becomes topical with Cricket World Cup around. "Now everybody knows what is toss. Again, toss is seen by the teams as a decider in most matches. At the fag end of April when the World Cup final takes place, our Toss pitches in to provide the entertainment," he says.
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