EXCLUSIVE: Devi Sri Prasad speaks on ‘Pushpa 2’, Chiranjeevi’s film & more

Devi Sri Prasad is doing some of the most-awaited films these days. Among them is ‘Pushpa 2’. IndiaGltiz today had a tete-a-tete with the Rock Star to find out what he is planning for the Allu Arjun-Sukumar pan-India actioner. DSP also talked about his journey with Bunny, his association with Megastar Chiranjeevi, and more. 

Excerpts:

The script of ‘Pushpa 2’ is mind-blowing. I can’t reveal more at this stage. Sukumar might not like me to reveal even this much. But I am excited as a music director and a lover of cinema. 

I come with no expectations. While doing ‘Arya’, we did ‘Amalapuram’ song just like that. We enjoyed doing it and didn’t bother about the result. The song became a super hit. While doing the item song in ‘Arya 2’, the pressure was building up. I told the team not to get worked up. I asked them to be tension-free. I am following ‘Pushpa 2’ with a similar approach. We were sincere while doing ‘Pushpa 1’. We will do the same again. That’s what matters. 

I and Bunny admire each other greatly. Both of us are hard workers. I love how passionate he is about cinema. He wants to try new dance moves every time. He travels with the director and researches a lot. I always tell him that he was the first one down South to try six-pack abs (for ‘Desamuduru’). I am a dance lover like him. That’s another quality we both share. 

I am a huge fan of Maestro Ilaiyaraja garu. I wanted to become a music director precisely because of my interest in BGM. It was Ilaiyarajaa sir who brought BGM to the foreground. My BGM in ‘Pushpa’ was lauded as much as its songs, especially by the Hindi audience. Composers like Pritham called me and told me how much they enjoyed it. The pre-interval block BGM became a rage with those who are into Instagram reels. 

When I listen to a script, I think in terms of BGM as much as the songs. I visualize the graph of the film and start planning how the BGM has to be stitched up. I narrate back the script to my directors with musical narration. Recently, ‘Dangal’ director Nitesh Tiwari enjoyed it a lot while working on a film with Varun Dhawan. 

Music has no language. It knows no borders. Music is music everywhere. In the case of ‘Pushpa’, which was released in five languages, it helped me that I have knowledge of three of the languages. Northerns loved the approach to the music in the film. Both ‘Oo Antava’ and ‘Srivalli’ clicked big time with them. 

Chiranjeevi garu has been a great inspiration to me since my childhood. He is synonymous with great dancing. Every musician’s dream is to work with him. It got fulfilled with ‘Shankardada MBBS’. It’s a blessing that I did the music for his comeback film ‘Khaidi No. 150’ as well. I am doing Mega154 with him now for Bobby and Mythri Movie Makers. 

Right from my first movie, I have been introducing new voices. They are fresh. A lot of youngsters have dreams in their belly to become singers. I like to encourage freshers. I introduced two folk singers with ‘Rangasthalam’.