A man of substance
Y. SUNITA CHOWDHARY
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Chinna dons multiple hats as producer, director and actor in his new horror film ‘Aa Intlo…’
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Pensive Chinna aka A. Jitender Reddy.
Chinna stands tall at 6ft 2 inches. The curly haired hero has acted in over 120 films in a span of 22 years. A trained actor, Chinna’s actual name is Jitender Reddy. After his role in Shiva where his character was named Chinna, family and friends in the film industry started addressing him that way and today he goes by that name.However, in his debut directorial venture Aa Intlo…he retains his name as Jitender Reddy in the title cards as producer. He has apparently written the story and dialogues as well as the screenplay, acted and conceptualised the songs, along with directing and producing the film.
The posters show a sleek bungalow surrounded by trees. A picture of music director Koti is super imposed on it with his eyes in light coloured lens attracting the onlooker’s attention. Chinna refuses to reveal any thing concerning the film as he thinks it means giving away the entire story. Isn’t he taking a risk handling too many departments? He replies, “I had no choice. When I narrated the script to a few people whom I zeroed in on, they didn’t agree with the story line and I couldn’t convince them. I thought instead of embarking on the project with them and later interfering in their work I’d rather do the film myself.”
Chinna says it is a horror film and after watching it, one will get too scared to move about ones own house when alone and in the dark. He agrees that Ram Gopal Varma has had a great influence over him. Chinna shot the 1 hour 58 minute long movie in 46 days.The movie has seven characters, the main character, played by Chinna, a wife, two kids, a watchman, a servant and a sadhu.
Asha Saini rechristened Mayuri after a sinking career plays his wife and is very central to the story. But why did Chinna’s career not take off as expected after Shiva or Puttinti Pattu Cheera? The actor cites three reasons. First, he was hugely disappointed, after he was signed for Ammoru with the late Soundarya, he worked for 12 months passionately and then the film-maker abruptly dropped him and re-shot the scenes with Rami Reddy. He had put all his energy into it and thought that the film would get him a lot of offers. He even let go off Gaayam as he was doing Ammoru.
It took a lot of time to come out of that phase and even now he cannot forget or forgive them. Next, when the industry moved from Chennai to Hyderabad he stayed back in Chennai.Finally Chinna says he is not the kind of person who would go and beg for roles . He adds, “I can’t act off screen.”
All said and done, Chinna has been doing some role or the other in films, and is often busy for 20 days in a month. Most horror films are set around a mansion, a tree, a doll and a running television.
One hopes that he comes up with a tight narration even if he has a similar setting.
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