Ravi Verma: Learning from your previous experiences, you should have planned right in case of Prasthanam but this film also went over the budget. Why is that?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: Several factors contributed to this unexpected rise. We thought we'd finish the first song in 10 lakh rupees, but the dance master was not comfortable with the dancers and the Director of Photography was changed after that song. Thus, another 15 lakh rupees got added to the song expense. Later, there were issues such as the accident to the Director of Photography on the very first day of shoot. And, then the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh was unfortunately killed in the accident and mourning, bandhs, etc. ensued, thus messing up the call sheets that we had for the cast and crew. Thus, we had to shoot and reshoot some scenes for better continuity. All such reasons contributed too.

Ravi Verma: You did Vennela almost four years back. Why wasn't there another film from you? Didn't anyone approach you to do another film? Why Deva again?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: Actually, many approached me to do a film but the story and the screenplay didn't excite enough to make a film. Most of them came up with one-liners or the with a tacky screenplay, whereas Deva came up with the complete screenplay and story, and so we went ahead with him.

Ravi Verma: There was a distance barrier yet, even for Prasthanam, among the crew, with you being in Detroit, Deva in San Fransisco, Mahesh Shankar in India, and so on. How did you manage to overcome this problem?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: Deva used to be in Detriot until last year and so we were in regular touch till then. Once he moved to San Fransisco, discussions continued over the phone and there was no issue whatsoever. While shooting in India too, we had good people to take care of the project while we were in touch with them on a daily basis. The production costs went up for other reasons and not because of this.

Ravi Verma: Why did this film need an urban backdrop?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: We actually thought of doing it in a city backdrop, but then we thought of doing it as urban background which give good feel and look for the film.

Ravi Verma: As you said earlier, you were a story-writer too. So, what is your contribution for the film?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: The film is entirely Deva's. And, I suggested the flashback episode for the film which comes in the beginning of the film when we discussed. I then came to know what shots will go into the final product and what will not. That helped us.

Ravi Verma: I was supposed to do the film originally but I was not there later. What is the reason?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: (Laughs) You know the reason, but I'd tell it again since you asked. We first chose a different hero but we had to fall back to "Plan B" with Sharwanand. I promised Sharwanand while doing Vennela that we'd do a film with him as the main lead soon, and we felt you that it'd not be acceptable for you to play his younger brother since you both acted as classmates in Vennela [and the film Classmates]. Later, we chose a candidate from New York Film Academy for that role and we trained him. However, just before the shooting, he could not do the film due to personal reasons. Thus, we chose Sandeep Kishan for that role and he did a wonderful job and everyone is now appreciating his performance. Sharwanand too did a wonderful job in the film, particularly in the last scene. In fact, Sharwanand and Sandeep compete with each other in performance! Working with a giant-actor like Saikumar isn't easy either...!

Ravi Verma: Saikumar is another performer who's quite under-rated in the industry, I feel.
Ravi Vallabhaneni: Indeed! I, and one of my friends who was involved in casting, were hell-bent on getting Saikumar in for that role. He has an amazing voice and appreciable experience and expertise that helped a lot in getting to give life to the role.

Ravi Verma: The film's audio release wasn't just another audio release function...
Ravi Vallabhaneni: The film was about a young leader. Saikumar says, " raajakeeyam vaarasatwam kaadu!" ("Politics is not an inherited career.") in one of the dialogues. Inspired by this line, we wanted to thank young political leaders of Andhra Pradesh that didn't have a political background. We got a huge response when we announced it. We selected a few and approached Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan gaaru for the release of the audio. He was first skeptical but agreed upon hearing the story. We went ahead with the audio release as planned. The idea is originally suggested by a friend in Detroit.

Ravi Verma: Now that your film is a success, what's next?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: Still the same film... because it still has to reach the B and C centers. We have a very good response from whoever saw the film. What next, i.e. after the film, is not known yet.