Plot with a purposeful theme
M.L. NARASIMHAM
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‘Mee Sreyobhilashi’ deals with a serious issue that is narrated in lighter vein.
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Message oriented Rajendra Prasad plays yet another memorable role
The location is a highway somewhere between Hyderabad and Srisailam. The luxury bus carrying “men and women from different walks of life” stops near a barren land on either side of the highway. Director V. Easwara Reddy alights from the b
us as he finds the location ideal to shoot a particular block in the scene for Visu Films (P) Ltd.’s Mee Sreyobhilashi produced by C.C. Reddy with Rajendra Prasad in the lead. The actors and other crew members led by Rajendra Pra
sad too get down for a warm up. Spotted among them are Brahmanandam, Krishna Bhagwan and Raghubabu. Besides them Naresh and Medha play stellar roles.
While the unit is busy readying the location and making necessary arrangements, we turn to Rajendra Prasad who completed three decades in the industry this year. “It is a wonderful journey,” he smiles “Coincidentally, most of this film is also shot in a journey. I have the scope to deliver something interesting, to bring cheer into the lives of the disturbed through my character.”
That he has been doing through his innumerable comedy hero roles all these years, we counter. “Though the professor I play in the film entertain you till the last fifteen minutes, it is scripted in a different way from my earlier roles. This professor also counsels the suicide prone. Take this bus for instance. It carries men and women from all walks of life. From young to the old from lower rung to the middle class, from farmers who cultivate cotton seeds to college students. Disturbed by various factors some of them try to end their lives. The professor not only stops them but also gives them hope through his words to carry on,” he stops and points out at a teenaged actor who is standing at a distance waiting for the shot. “This boy plays a tenth class student. He is saved by the professor.”
As he is about to say something about the boy, the director instructs the crew and cast to get into the bus. The location is abandoned and the journey begins again. The shoot commences in the bus. Once inside the bus, the actor becomes the character and finding the boy weeping, the professor asks him, amma gurthochindha? The boy nods in the negative and says, ledhu uncle. The professor is persistent, marendhuku ala unnavu. The boy replies Evala naa birthday. Now the professor turns to the others in the bus and says Ithanu aathmahathya chesukovalanukunnadu. Ala jarigivunte ithani birthday death day oke roju ayi undevannamaata. Well…
let’s celebrate his birthday.” The director orders ‘cut’ with a satisfactory smile. In the next block, the bus reverberates with joy and celebration and the boy now sports a broad smile.
“The Raghuram character in Aa Naluguru was such a hit that even after three years of its release, it is still remembered. Besides a kind of pride, it also gave me a feeling that my career reached a zenith and I may not be able
to get another role like that. That is when Easwara Reddy narrated to me the professor’s character. I am so impressed I immediately agreed to do it. The incidents are contemporary. If I can bring even an iota of change in the su
icide prone through my portrayal I feel vindicated,” said Rajendra Prasad. He adds that there is a “beautiful flash back for the professor” that reveals why he stops suicides and takes up those counselling sessions.
Easwara Reddy worked in Suresh Productions for a decade before making his grade as a director. “The serious issue is narrated in lighter vein. There is also a love story interlinked with the main theme. The shooting is coming to a close with the climax planned on a huge scale at Horsley Hills from August 1 to 4,” chips in Reddy. The movie is also expected to hit the marquee in August.
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