 |
| M.Tirupati Reddy |
The film
Khaidi has a special place among Telugu movies - among other sensations, the most important one is that it gave star status to Chiranjeevi. It is the film which gave him a huge mass following and crossed one crore collections for the first time in his carrer. The film was released 25 years back but is talked of even today! I got hold of the producer of the movie, Dr. Medarametla Tirupathi Reddy, at his residence one evening and spoke to him over the phone about
Khaidi and other films that he produced. Excerpts of the telephonic interview are presented exclusively for visitors of TeluguCinema.Com:
Sri: What brought you to films?
M. Tirupathi Reddy:
I am from Nellore, basically a doctor by profession but also had a finance business. In order to expand our business and also for education of my children, I moved to Madras. There, I started film finance called under the name Tirupathi Finance and financed for many films during the period 1979-'83.
Sri: So, how did you become a producer?
M. Tirupathi Reddy:
I financed some films of Kondadarami Reddy and also Chiranjeevi. As Kodandarami Reddy is also from Nellore, I thought of doing a film with him. The film
Abhilasha was a good hit at that time. So I thought that the combination of Chiranjeevi and Kondadarami Reddy will click, and I thus gave advance to both of them for the film.
Sri: Any particular reason to choose your banner's name as Samyuktha?
M. Tirupathi Reddy:
When I decided to produce a film, a couple of other friends wanted to join with me as producers. They said they will just invest the money and I need to look after other things. I agreed and that is how Sudhakar, Dhanunjaya,
etc. came into picture. I thought of naming the banner in such a way that it suggests about several producers coming together to make a movie. I considered the name United Producers but I still wanted to choose a Telugu name which hints about the group of producers. Thus, the name Samyuktha (meaning "joined together") came up for the banner.
Sri: Tell me your involvement in the movie.
M. Tirupathi Reddy:
(Laughs) My involvement was there from the beginning in the movie,
anDii! It was me who suggested the name of the film too, in fact! Initially, we thought of doing a film based on a story given by a Tamil writer, but then I saw the film
First Blood and I liked it so much that I wanted to adapt the story somwhow. I gave the film's videocassette to Paruchuri Brothers and asked them to develop a story based on the initial scenes in the films. The writer brothers came up with the basic story line and after the first schedule, the flashback episodes were all developed to give the project its final shape!
Sri: Chiranjeevi, Radhika, and Kondadarami Reddy were a hit team at that time (
Nyaayam Kaavaali- 1981,
Kiraayi
Rowdy-lu - 1981,
Prema Picchollu - 1983,
Abhilasha - 1983,
Sivudu Sivudu Sivudu - 1983), though a couple of these films were flops. What made you to choose Madhavi as the heroine in your film?
M. Tirupathi Reddy:
It was a good combination, alright, but I felt it was already used too many times! And, I felt Madhavi to be the right choice for the role. She is a great artiste and also gave many hits with Chiranjeevi like
Kothalarayudu,
Intlo Ramayya-Veedhilo Krishnayya,
etc.
Sri: It's always heard that Chiranjeevi and Madhavi do not stand each other and that they were never in talking terms like other heroes and heroines. Didn't you have any problems because of this?
M. Tirupathi Reddy:
No, both are very professional artistes and have a good screen chemistry! Madhavi is good on screen with him, which is the most important thing, and she never behaved in any manner that would affect the film in a negative sense. She always used to be on time and behaved perfectly well-mannered and completed her shot always in the first take!
Sri: What was the budget for the film?
M. Tirupathi Reddy:
As it was our first film, we did not want to compromise on the cost just for the sake of it - we invested what is required for the movie. We made the film in about 25 lakh rupees! ...And, I sold it at the same rate, and thus this was a no-loss-no-gain venture for me in the first run...
