Bheemaneni Srinivas has stuck out after a hiatus of six years. His last film, Annavaram, was released in 2006. He says that Sudigaadu is not a remake but only an adaptation. The maker should be credited with choosing a novel concept to dole out fun. Tamila Padam is a terrific idea as it mixes genres and a hundred funny scenes even while telling the story of a born-lucky hero and his separated family.

In his exclusive interview with IndiaGlitz, Srinivas talks about his style, what went into making the film, why he thinks Naresh is different here and more.

Excerpts:

Title justification:

Sudigaadu conveys the meaning that the hero is a lucky fellow. He obtains great results with minimal effort. He is fortuitous and blessed to be lucky.

Universal appeal:

The title has a universal appeal. Without class distinctions, everyone understands its connotations. It is everyday lingo, much as the titles of Naresh’s previous films. Larger-than-life titles don’t suit Naresh’s image. The caption (Oka ticket ku 100 cinemalu) is also 100 pc apt for the subject. It conveys the essence of the film.

First-of-its-kind film:

There is a reason why I call Sudigaadu a first-of-its-kind spoof film. From the word go, the hero is seen parodying one hero/film or another, according to the situations. However, the scenes do not seem forced. They are gelled into the screenplay/story. The film is not a spoof in bits and pieces but is a full-on parody.

A thorough rehash of Tamila Padam:

The film is only 30 pc of the original. It was never my intention to make a frame-to-frame remake of the original. It has been adapted to Telugu nativity. While the original had spoofs on the clichés of Tamil cinema, Sudigaadu represents the popular clichés of Telugu cinema. Films released from 2000 onwards are spoofed.

The film is experimental but is in the safer zone. It is a film on cinema but not on cinemawallahs.

Showing a new Naresh:

Naresh has acted in 40 films in the last 10 years. I wanted to present a new side of Naresh in my film. The story allowed me to make him present himself in a different way.

It is now fair to say that his acting style has been monotonous. Since he has done mostly comedies, it is natural that he tends to seem routine. But he did well in Gamyam and Shambo Shiva Shambo also. By showing variation, he won awards. He is one comedy hero with so much ease. He has occupied the position of Rajendra Prasad in that a library of his films is shelved in homes by many politicians, businessmen and the Telugus in other countries.

The blemish of monotony, if any, will be erased after the release of Sudigaadu. He has tried 15 get-ups, out of which at least 10 are superb. He looks very authentic. Spoofing Bharateeyudu and Aparichitudu challenged him.

Many emotions, many variations:

The film has a myriad of emotions and modulations. They are weaved into the comedy scenes. If you listen to the audio, you think that say, a sentimental song was sung with emotions. However, the montages would be very different. They are hilarious. There is melodrama, but it is light-veined. A lot of research and analysis went into making this full-length parody. I watched a number of parodies made in other countries in order to innovate within the limits of the genre. I did not want to make a film that would suffice if it ran for 3-4 weeks. The intention was to bring out a refreshing, novel film.

Costly film:

So much money was spent in order to recreate the ambience of the original film. It is the view of some of the technicians who have worked for the film that some of the scenes have come off better than the original ones.

A remake director?:

I am not guilty that I have been given the tag of a remake director. Whenever I drew inspiration from a hit film, I tried to make my film much better. That explains why most of them fared much better in Telugu than the originals did in their home turf. I don’t rest on laurels, saying I did Subhakanshalu, Suswagatham, Surya Vamsham. Sudigaadu will change people’s image of me. When the right time comes, I will do an original. But I don’t want to make a straight film just to prove a point. It makes no sense.

The stunning popularity of trailers:

We are not surprised at the way the trailers have gained in popularity. We took so much care in publicity designing; we did thorough research for 3-4 weeks to make a curiosity-producing trailer.