S.S. Rajamouli, the talented and successful director of a series of hits from Student No. 1 to Vikramarkudu, is ready to come up with a socio-fantasy for the first time with the film Yamadonga. As the film is getting ready for release, Rajamouli is busy with the editing, re-recording and other post-production work for the movie. Amidst the busy schedules, I could finally get a hold of him when he was in the recording theatre.
Sri: Is the film a remake of the Yamagola of the past?
Rajamouli: The basic plot is inspired by old films like Devantakudu and Yamagola where the hero dies and goes to yamalOkam and comes back to the earth. That's it, the similarities end there! Rest of the story has nothing to do with films of the past.
Sri: You had worked with Jr. NTR for Student No. 1 and Simhadri in the past too. What difference have you seen in him after this gap, on the sets of Yamadonga.
Rajamouli: He proved himself as a complete actor by the time of Simhadri itself . As a person, he changed... I think age and other things brought him maturity. He is now more matured and cooler than before.
Sri: This is the first time you are doing a socio-fantasy film. So how did you prepare for the film? Where did you get the inspiration for visuals?
Rajamouli: The legendary Vijaya films like Paathaala Bhairavi, Jagadekaveeruni Katha are my primary sources of inspiration. Those films stirred the creative juices in my childhood itself. The artistes, their body language, dialogue delivery are all etched into my memory permanently. The visuals for our film, of course, are developed by Senthil, Rama, Anand Sai, Kanal Kannan, our SFX supervisor an me.
Sri: How did you made NTR to lose the flab?
Rajamouli: (Laughs) Not me. You should ask and appreciate him for that. When we planned to make a movie, we wanted to make a complete family-oriented film. For that, the hero should look glamorous. So, before we started the film, we sat with him and discussed on looks and getups. He was already in process of shedding some of his weight, and after the discussions, he worked harder, controlled his diet, stopped working on weights, and slimmed down. He loves good food, but he restrained himself a lot for this film.
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"It is nice to have Prabhas to act in the film of banner logo" |
Sri: How did you make Mohan Babu accept your film?
Rajamouli: When we planned the film, I had Mohan Babu gaaru and none else in my mind for this role, so much that I would have gone with a different project if he didn't accept the role! We went and approached him with the concept and narrated the story to him. He gladly agreed to do the film on one condition. While signing the film, he just said that he will be on sets with makeup five minutes before the scheduled time and will leave at the strike of six o' clock in the evening.
Sri: How was it to work with him? I mean, there are so many hearsays...
Rajamouli: I have not faced any problems, really! Before signing him, people warned me about his short temper, in fact. I worked with him for more than 37 days, and he was never in a foul mood ...nor was he late for the shoot ever! He was always in time and was always very jovial on the sets. However, unlike what we agreed upon, I never left him off free by 6:00 p.m. - not a single day! - but he was not at all upset. One day, after 8:30 p.m., he came to me and said that he'd stay back further to complete the scene that was planned to be done.
A wonderful person he is, he was generous in adjusting schedules, indeed! ...Actually, before his part of the shooting started, I asked Cherry to be on the sets while Mohan Babu gaari shooting was going on, so that he can take care of any issues that might rise. Seeing him and working with him on the first day itself, we found it unnecessary for Cherry to be on the sets for that purpose, and he was never on the sets after the first day, actually!
Sri: What kind of precautions did you take about his ornaments?
Rajamouli: As it's a socio-fantasy film and the role of the Yama appeared on silver screen many times in the past, we did not want to go for similar type of ornaments. We watched all the Yama-based films of the past and designed our own ornaments afresh. It took more than three months only to finalize Mohan Babu gaari getup for the film. We didn't like the designs the first couple of times, and we changed them again and again ...until they completely matched our thoughts!
Sri: The yamalOkam set seems very expensive!
Rajamouli: It was not all lavish from the beginning (laughs). See, in all the old films, except for the throne, most of the sets were tacky for yamalOkam. When we planned to erect a set, we wanted to have pillars which should go well with the throne, and a royal, palatial court to go with the pillar, ...we simply wanted a complete "set", and we erected one!
Sri: Don't you think such a huge set increases production costs?
Rajamouli: Yes, of course, the cost was increased, but it is the producer Cherry's money, not mine ...and he never complained about it!
Sri: I believe you're working in Ramoji Film City for the first time?
Rajamouli: True, this is my first at the RFC. To tell you the truth, I didn't have a good opinion on RFC earlier, but this film changed all my opinions on RFC. For example, the set we just spoke about would normally take three months for erection. Sekhar Babu gaaru, head of Mantrat at RFC and Kiran got us the set in less than half that time! The co-operation we got from the people in RFC is really amazing!
Sri: Mamatha was replaced a couple of times before this project in other films. And, anyway, why did you cast two heroines for the project?
Rajamouli: Regarding Mamatha's replacement in other projects in the past, I am never bothered about what projects one does before one does mine, what market one has, or anything of the sort. I only choose them if I think they suit the role, that's all, and so Mamatha is in! The film needs two heroines, and so we have them. I mean, they are not just here for the songs. The story's run itself needs two heroines.
Sri: I mean, I am curious to know where the heroines fit in the story that essentially revolves around NTR and Mohan Babu... and we already have three other celestial damsels.
Rajamouli: The film is a blend of both tracks - an entertaining track with Mohan Babu gaaru and NTR, and a love track between the hero and the heroines. And now, don't ask me more ! Watch the movie for the rest of the story (laughs).
About Visuals and Graphics in Yamadonga in Page 2 >>>
