Dil Raju awaits the release of 'Lover' on July 20. In his latest interview, the ace producer talks about how the project fell into place, making Harshit a producer, the upcoming schedules of Mahesh Babu's 25th film and more.

How did 'Lover' happen?

I liked Anish Krishna's debut movie, 'Ala Ela'. He happened to meet me on an occasion and I asked him to narrate a nice story to me. It was in 2016 that he gave a narration, which I liked. I asked him to develop it into a nice script. Since I was busy throughout 2017, I couldn't take up his project. Harshit has been with me for the past 3-4 years. He asked me to assign a project to him so that he can execute it on his own. When I liked Anish Krishna's script, I asked Harshit to listen to it. I promised him that I won't involve in the project if he likes the script.

What is the budget of 'Lover'. There is a talk that the costs exceeded the pre-planned budget.

I permitted Harshit to make 'Lover' on a budget of not more than Rs. 5 CR. He told me he had never handled such a budget earlier. It was his choice to go in for multiple music directors. I was shocked to listen to the budget that he was willing to spend just on music for the songs. It was his calling to rope in the likes of Sameer Reddy (cinematographer) and AS Prakash (art director). With me giving him all that was required, Harshit executed the project so well. The film is visually nice. Everybody is loving the climax. It's very difficult to make a quality film with just Rs. 5 Cr. We are releasing the movie on our own.

Why Raj Tarun? He has had a series of flops.

We had for long wanted to work with Raj Tarun. And we chose him as the film's hero since the script is apt for him. I agree his success rate hasn't been good in recent times. But he is a budding hero. He has got a different climax in 'Lover'.

What is Raj Tarun's character in the movie?

Coming to the story, Raj Tarun plays an orphan. Since he has never had a family, he wants to give his wife and children the best. The backdrop is of Anantapur in Rayalaseema. Although love stories are more or less the same, the distinction should lie in treatment.

Are you tensed before the release of 'Lover'?

I generally don't put myself under pressure. But in the case of 'Lover', I must say that I am experiencing pressure. That's because 'Lover' is Harshit's first movie. As a producer, I take successes and failures with equanimity. A film's range is decided by its box-office success. If a film works, nobody thinks about the budget.

You have slowed down this year. Isn't it?

I had double-hattrick as a producer last year. This year, I have only three releases. It's not easy to score double-hattricks year after year.

You are making small movies and big movies all at once. What's your experience with them?

I feel scared to make small movies. It's because it's not easy to bring the audience to the theatre in the case of small movies. I made 'Kerintha', which I didn't like. It had to be reshot. Since the openings were not great, we had to go on tours. It was very hard to recover our investment. It involved opportunity costs in terms of spent time. If you make a film with a popular hero, things would be different.

Besides the Venkatesh-Varun Tej starring 'F2', you have announced a new multi-starrer recently. Was it always your plan?

I am not making multi-starrers because I had planned to make them. It all depends on the story. Besides 'F2', I am going to do a multi-starrer with Mohankrishna Indraganti. 'Dagudu Moothalu' with Harish Shankar is getting ready. As of now, we both are not liking the script of 'DM'. It has to be seen if we will move to some other script. It will take another 7-10 days to finalize it.

What are the upcoming schedules of Mahesh Babu's movie?

They will happen in Hyderabad, Goa, and Hyderabad again. To be released on April 5 next year, the Vamshi Paidipally directorial will be shot in the US from September. The movie will also be shot in Europe.

What are your upcoming releases?

'Srinivasa Kalyanam' will be out on August 9, which is the release date of 'Bommarillu'. Ram Pothineni's 'Hello Guru Prema Kosame' is coming on Oct 18. 'F2' will come on January 12. Mahesh Babu's 25th film will be out on April 5. The film with Ashok Galla (Mahesh Babu's relative and Jaydev Galla's son) will go on the floors in either September or October. We are yet to choose between two scripts. Sirish’s son, Ashsih Reddy, will be introduced as hero with a film titled 'Paluke Bangaramayena'.