Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
Love in the time of rain
M.L. NARASIMHAM
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Producer M.S. Raju makes his debut as a director with ‘Vaana’, a remake of a Kannada hit.
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Let it go Vinay Rai and Meera Chopra in ‘Vaana’.
A 45-km drive from Hyderabad takes us to the farm house at Shad Nagar where ace producer M.S. Raju is shooting his debut directorial venture, Vaana. Surrounded by greenery, the scenic farm house is now the heroine (Meera Chopra)
217;s residence with a few changes made by debut art director Rajeev. The unit of 100 members is working for this film produced by Sumanth Art Productions banner. Crisscrossing our way into the elegantly done up drawing room where the shooting is in progress, we spot the principle actors - hero Vinay Rai (debut in Telugu), Meera Chopra, Jayasudha, Seetha, Naresh and Suman, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao and a few others. From their expressions, one could visualise that Raju is filming an emotional scene as Sekhar V. Joseph’s camera rolls. The film is a remake of the Kannada hit, Mungaaru Male.
“The theme appealed to me so much that I decided to direct it myself instead of entrusting the job to someone else. One has to put his heart and soul into a film to get the required result. Yograj Bhat has done that to make the Kannada version not only a box office success but a memorable movie too. In fact I was to direct Manasantha Nuvve. At that time I felt I should give a young director the chance to direct; but Vaana is different. It is a pleasant love story with a gripping climax and one has to gel with the story to direct it. So here I am, directing the film for S.P.R Entertainments, which holds the remake rights and agreed to share them with me,” smiles M.S. Raju, talking to us between the takes.
Vinay made his debut in Tamil with Unnalae Unnalae (Neevalle Neevalle) and Delhiite Meera Chopra is a known face thanks to Bangaram. “Initially I thought of casting my son Sumanth Ashwin. The role was a tough one for a first time actor so I opted for Vinay. He is a rich boy with a boy-next-door kind of appeal. Jayasudha and Naresh are his parents. The heroine is bubbly with a tinge of arrogance. Meera Chopra has these qualities. Seetha and Suman are her parents. Suman has a meaty role as a retired army person,” briefs Raju.
Sekhar V. Joseph and the entire unit had a trying time filming in Sakleshpur, Karnataka, for nearly two months during the rains. Recalling his earlier schedule, Raju says that the script demanded shooting in actual rain. “For Varsham, we created artificial rain and could shoot as per our convenience. But Vaana is different. We chose to capture the rainy season of the picturesque Sakleshpur, a six hour drive from Bangalore. Nearly 150 members worked with umbrellas and rain coats to complete 40 per cent of the shoot. It left us with a feeling that we are filming something that viewers haven’t seen till now.
It is an entertaining film with the lead actor making everyone laugh with his antics until the heart-touching climax. The love story is supported by melodious music (Kamalakar), soulful lyrics (Seetharama Sastry), stunning visuals, crisp dialogues (Paruchuri Brothers) and fine cut (K.V. Krishna Reddy); it’s a dream debut for any director.”
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
|
