Producers Jayakanth (Bobby) and Amar Bura are making their debut with an "offbeat" dark comedy thriller in the industry. Their maiden venture, titled Gurram Paapi Reddy, is scheduled to hit the cinemas on December 19.
In this interview, the producers talk about their movie. Presented by MJM Motion Pictures and Bura and Saddi Creative Arts, the film is directed by Murali Manohar.
Jayakanth says:
Generally speaking, new producers deem commercial entertainers, love stories or youthful movies with which to make a debut. We didn't want to follow the beaten track. When we came across the dark comedy, the genre felt fresh.
Naresh Agastya was not the first choice. Pelli Choopulu director Tharun Bhascker evinced interest in headlining the movie. He was caught up with some other project, though. Another actor was under serious consideration before the script reached Naresh.
Our director didn't zero in on Naresh just because he was interested in playing the male lead. He interacted with him and watched him up close until he was convinced that the story would suit him. Since he has acted in a new-age comedy like Mathu Vadarala, he brought in his experience.
Saudhamini is Faria Abdullah's name in the movie. Much like Naresh, she too brought in the experience of doing a comedy blockbuster like Jathi Ratnalu. Her song has been a chartbuster.
Yes, the budget did shoot up. Our commitment to casting actors who genuinely embody their roles led to an expanded budget exceeding our original projections. We were fortunate to have Venu and Dr. Sandhya from the US join the production at this crucial stage.
Casting Brahmanandam garu and Yogi Babu was a special experience altogether. The latter's dates were not available in the immediate term; so, we waited out for a couple of months. As for Brahmi garu, his role is not short. In a long time, you haven't seen him do anything like this! We also expect AAY fame Raj Kumar Kasireddy and Vamsidhar Kosigi to get noticed in a big way after Gurram Paapi Reddy.
These days, content alone matters. We (producers) are currently executing a prudent business strategy, finalizing deals only when they meet our confident valuation.
Amar Bura says:
The only aim of Gurram Paapi Reddy is to keep the audience entertain. When we went along with a comedy entertainer, we knew the purpose we were setting ourselves up for. The audience don't like to listen to messaging in every other movie.
Gurram Paapi Reddy involves a bunch of dimwits who have an unexpected clash with smart guys. The nature of comedy is different, something you will have to discover by watching the movie!
Films like MAD, MAD 2 and Mathu Vadalara have worked in recent years purely on the basis of comedy. Their artists were very funny to watch. Gurram Paapi Reddy is in a similar vein.
Due to an unavoidable reason, the budget shot up. An industry-wide strike resulted on cost overshoots even though we kept shooting in Mysuru at that time.
As new producers, we have encountered a set of difficulties in terms of closing business deals. Purely on the strength of content, our movie is going to be released on 140 screens. We are not spreading ourselves thin. We plan to add new shows depending on the response from the audience.
Since there is a view that cinema ticket rates are high, we are planning to implement highly reasonable and affordable rates.
Gurram Paapi Reddy might be clashing with Avatar 3, but both films are as different as they can get. Both of them will find their audiences.
