Star Interviews
Chit Chat : Ravi Vs Ravi on Prasthanam
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Apr 20, 2010 - 7:58:00 AM

Actor Ravi Verma and producer Ravi Vallabhaneni share their debut film - Vennela. Since we had contacts with both of them, we asked Ravi Verma to interview Ravi Vallabhaneni for TeluguCinema.Com exclusively, as the latter rides high on the success of his second film, Prasthanam. The actor readily agreed for this different kind of website interview, and here it is for our readers:

Ravi Verma: First, congratulations on the success of Prasthanam..
Ravi Vallabhaneni: Thank you!

Ravi Verma: To my knowledge, you do not have a filmy background...
Ravi Vallabhaneni: True, I came from agricultural background. From the childhood, I used to watch a lot of movies in the touring talkies at our village and even wrote some stories when I was going to school. In college, our circle of friends used to watch movies and even discuss together the movies' potential at the box-office, etc. My guesstimates would be nearly always right on spot for commercial films. My interest to write plays for stage performances in school continued into college. When I studied at Nagpur, my plays got noticed by the local Telugu Associations and groups and we won some prizes too...

Ravi Verma: Usually, people want to be on the screen and not behind the scene...
Ravi Vallabhaneni: Though I wrote plays, I was never on the stage as an actor. I'd rather leave it to the right people, I guess! (laughs)

Actor Ravi Verma

Ravi Verma: How did you know Deva Katta and what made you to produce the film with him?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: As most of my classmates are here [in Detroit], we used to meet often on weekends and used to discuss about films and also wanted to make a film but it never materialized due to some reasons. Then, Deva was introduced to me by a common friend. Before we met Deva did a telefilm called Valasa. That showed his spark and I thought he had good, creative thoughts. Soon, we used to discuss about his scripts and ... Vennela shaped up thus!

Ravi Verma: Why did you want to do the film in the USA instead of India like everyone?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: In fact, our original idea was to do it in India, but later we moved the scene to the USA in order to have wider scope and a fresh look to the movie.

Ravi Verma: Neither of you had experience in film-making. So then how did you plan the movie, and that too in the USA?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: Once you start doing, then you know things. That's how we learned a lot of things when we are doing the film Vennela.

Ravi Verma: Being a part of the film myself, I know Vennela crossed the budget estimates. How did you manage finally?
Ravi Vallabhaneni: It went over the estimated budget due to several reasons, added to our inexperience like you just said. However, some people wanted to join us to make the film and thus the movie, for us, was a break-even at the end; the distributors and exhibitors made more money. However, it's a really wonderful experience and everyone is happy with the film.

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.

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