Mr Nukayya/Nokia justify the tagline no caption only action.
Chase sequences & twists are main High Light in the film.Over all it will pay off well with b & c youth & masses.
According to my judgement it will be a commercial grosser in Manoj films.
A good team work,well composed action sequences,well made screenplay elevated the film.
My wishes to Manchu Manoj,Ani Kanneganti,Kriti Karbandha,Vennela Kishore & team.
About how Dhookudu film started – Part 4
(Please note: Making a film is perhaps one of the toughest jobs you’ll ever come across. Every filmmaker struggles a lot for the project’s success. Filmmakers put their lives, time and money at stake for a film’s success. Every one has their own version of how much effort they had put in while making a film. And this is ours. I am not exaggerating or trying to boast about myself through this article. I am honestly trying to brief our struggle and experiences while working on Dhookudu. What you read here is actually a simple version of our efforts. All of us had great moments and some very hard moments while finalizing the scripts for our films. I am trying my best to make you understand our efforts. Please avoid giving advices while commenting. Already, we have too many people for that. I request you to read the full article and tweet questions to me my dear friends. I don’t want to hurt any one with my articles. I want to make things easy to wannabe writers and make you understand the logic behind every commercial film. I wasted my valuable time knowing many things for the sake of experience. If my articles help at least one person on this earth then my purpose is served. That is my sole aim and intention of writing these articles. So please don’t misinterpret the lines I have written and publish the material in wrong way. Thanks for your positive feedback. Good day.)
Again our director & producers were in search of a story. All of us started thinking practically about what we could do. At that time producers of Khaleja were planning to release the film in Aug/Sep 2010. So our producers and director wanted to finish the script work before September. They had almost 5 months to complete the pre-production work.
Before this happened, we saw Yem Maya Chesave. While watching the film, Sreenu garu asked me how will be this girl (Samantha) be opposite Mahesh Babu. Every one in the unit was excited about the idea and even the producers liked the idea instantly. They always wanted to see a fresh face opposite Mahesh Babu. Vaitla ji too wanted to cast a fresh face as heroine or try an entirely new combination. After a week or so he decided to cast Samantha opposite Mahesh Babu. Our producers signed Samantha for the movie. As I mentioned earlier, Mahesh Babu strongly supported the director’s decision and he supported this idea of casting Samantha as the heroine without any doubts lingering in his mind. Generally directors hesitate to cast new girls opposite stars. I liked Samantha’s performance & characterization while watching Yem Maya Chesave, but I did not expect that she would get instant stardom with that film. Youth started loving her & Jessi’s character became one of the best heroine’s characters in Telugu cinema. (I will talk about Yem Maya Chesave in our future posts.)
Coming to Dhookudu, though the producers signed her for the film, Sreenu garu never forced us to write a character which would suit her .He even said that we could cast some other heroine if the character doesn’t suit her. He did not want us to restrict HEROINE character in that point of view. At that time Samantha signed Brindavanam and the entire industry was after her but she rejected all of them for Mahesh-Vaitla’s project. She told every one that after she would sign films only after Dhookudu. Many producers called our producers and director and began pressurizing them for the heroine’s dates.Apart from developing the film’s story, the director was taking this extra pressure on his mind.
Meanwhile Sreenu ji came up with an idea for the hero’s characterization. Sreenu ji used to struggle a lot everyday with his assistant directors and me while discussing the characterization he believed in. He used to tell us his logic about why that character will work. I tried to frame couple of lines using that characterization but they lacked something important in terms of content. Even our producers developed a line through a writer friend and narrated that to Vaitla ji. He was not completely satisfied with that version too. So within no time we decided to go with a proper story based script rather than a character based story script.
Deviating from this topic, in our previous films we developed two stories after finalizing hero’s characterization right in the beginning. One was Dubai Seenu and the other was King (we were initially tempted to Bottu Seenu character in this film). Any hero would be attracted to those character’s histrionics. Both the films had started with a deadline in mind and we tried our best to do justice in that short span of time. Both the films ran well commercially but they were not so strong in terms of content. Only because of strong entertainment elements and screenplay both the films scored at box office. When we write scripts, particularly for star heroes, it’s even more important that we have a good story line. One or two films may run without a strong story point using good hero characterization and good screenplay. But it does not work all the time. We had to struggle hard to put flesh and blood to several average and thin lines while developing the story. You might wonder, “How do you define a strong story point?”.. Thing is it’s a very big topic. I will definitely share my views in my future posts. (Sorry for skipping this topic here.)
What I strongly believe is, for any kind of film, base line of the story should be good. If your story is creative, trendy, modern, youthful, classy and personal then you’ll strike a chord with critics, young and educated audience and non cine goers. If your story revolves around a formulaic premise which has good energy levels, high voltage drama, good twists and proper punch dialogues, while balancing heroism and emotions in equal intervals and fill it with comedy, sentiment and action… then you become a hot favorite among the mass audience. Critics, educated and young audience always complain about such formulaic films. Unfortunately Telugu filmmakers’ position & fate depends upon this latter kind of cinema. As per my analysis, mass crowd too need DIFFERENT COMMERCIAL (stay tuned for this topic) films. Nobody knows the exact logic of their need & requirement. Those who balance this act (Commerciality & Novelty) will stay in this industry for long. If the mass audience is disappointed with a film then they instantly show their emotions and curse the film makers & hero, while coming out of the theatres, for wasting their time and money. Their reaction is always projected in terms of box-office collections. If we go to any single screen theatre, we can know their response and reaction towards the film and the script. If they are completely involved in the film and are entertained while watching the movie then we are blessed. The other kind of cinema has a good chance of appreciation in media, class circles, multiplexes and in awards circle.
Again coming to the main point, base line of the story should be good. If we struggle hard to get the base line right, rest of the things can be done very easily. Whether it is a formulaic story, regular story, experimental story or a different story, this rule is the same. Strong story content never disappoints. Film’s success range always depends upon the strong story idea, versatile screenplay treatment, good dialogues, powerful directorial presentation and good editing table decisions. Good Cinematography work, Sound Design, Music & Back ground score, Locations, proper casting, sets and art direction, dances and fights, rich production values will enhance such script to a higher level. With a bad script producers’ money, artistes & technicians’ effort will go waste.
So I told Vaitla ji that I will come up with a good idea first rather than wavering on many.Literally two months (March & April) of our valuable time had gone by and we didn’t finalize anything.At that point of time my long time associate, star writer Kona Venkat ji came into the scene.
the topic continues……
http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/telugu/gallery/events/29205.html<a href="http://http://icdn.indiaglitz.com/playerV2/embed.swf?vid=55571&category=5023&as=” title=”Gopi Mohan Talks About Dookudu”>
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(Please note: Making a film is perhaps one of the toughest jobs you’ll ever come across. Every filmmaker struggles a lot for the project’s success. Filmmakers put their lives, time and money at stake for a film’s success. Every one has their own version of how much effort they had put in while making a film. And this is ours. I am not exaggerating or trying to boast about myself through this article. I am honestly trying to brief our struggle and experiences while working on Dhookudu. What you read here is actually a simple version of our efforts. All of us had great moments and some very hard moments while finalizing the scripts for our films. I am trying my best to make you understand our efforts. Please avoid giving advices while commenting. Already, we have too many people for that. I request you to read the full article and tweet questions to me my dear friends. I don’t want to hurt any one with my articles. I want to make things easy to wannabe writers and make you understand the logic behind every commercial film. I wasted my valuable time knowing many things for the sake of experience. If my articles help at least one person on this earth then my purpose is served. That is my sole aim and intention of writing these articles. So please don’t misinterpret the lines I have written and publish the material in wrong way. Thanks for your positive feedback. Good day.)
About How Dhookudu Film Started-part 3
Before going to Mahabhaleswar, Sreenu Vaitla and the producers listened to several subjects from many contemporary writers. Some Tamil writers and several upcoming and established Telugu film writers also narrated subjects to them. I too recommended & referred few people (writers) to producers. However, they did not find the right subject and content that they were expecting for their project. After all this process ,we finalised a line and went to Mahabhaleswar.
We reached Mahabhaleswar, Panchagani area and stayed at a guest house for a week. It’s a beautiful location and I loved that place.
I worked on the script for 5 days and narrated first version of first half, apart from giving an over all idea of second half script. Sreenu garu liked it and for few days we discussed and wrote scenes for first half. We were happy with the way the script was shaping up.
In the film’s first half, I developed a lengthy train episode which was set in North India.
Back in 2004, Sreenu Vaitla did a fantastic train episode in his film, VENKY which was very energetic, hilarious and memorable.Young students and youth who had similar experiences in their train journeys connected quite well to that train episode. Sreenu Vaitla got great respect and become very popular as a director after that. (Vaitla ji’s fan following started with the alcohol scene on terrace in ANANDHAM. That scene got excellent reaction from the audience. Of course, many liked SONTHAM’s M.S.Narayana photo session sequence & Sunil, Telangana Sakuntala’s track too). After the success of SANTOSHAM (I was the film’s writer) I got an offer from Sreenu vaitla to work for VENKY as a screenplay writer. It was my first film with Vaitla ji and I loved the way he picturised the train track in VENKY.
Coming back to the train episode in Dookudu, I tried my best to avoid the similarities when I first narrated but later in our discussions we realized that it had shaped up like Venky part 2. We enjoyed our discussions a lot while doing that.
Then we came back to Hyderabad after visiting Shirdi Sai Baba.
Sreenu Vaitla then narrated the story graph to our producers.They liked the story & humour but felt the train episode was similar to the sequence in Venky.
The problem was, after listening to the story, they realized that it wasn’t the kind of story they were expecting for Mahesh Babu. They were hesitating to tell us about it. One day Gopichand Achanta conveyed his feelings to me. I understood his intention. On the other hand, the time we were spending on each subject, our energies & creativity was almost going waste.
At that point of time , NAMO VENKATESA finished 100 days in around 10 centres or so. Around this time the producers organised a 100 days function at Jayabheri club. Many exhibitors,distributors and well wishers came to the function.They told us that they were expecting big business from Mahesh Babu’s film due to the craze for Mahesh Babu-Sreenu Vaitla’s combination and the masala factor. Whatever may be the thing, our director said that we should work on another fresh subject.
There were quite a few reasons for this decision. Sreenu ji had his doubts on whether people would receive the train episode well without comparing that with the train sequence in Venky or not. And he was also worried about the film as a whole as he wanted a good second half and a good climax. But personally,I had full confidence on the script we had developed. And I really believed that I could deliver a good script after taking a gap of few days.
Finally this subject of a love story based in North India was dropped.We stopped discussing further on this subject.
Started searching for another new subject in APRIL END 2010.
topic continues…..
I loved the way the below guys expressed their view in their blogs on Dookudu songs.:)
please check.
http://sun-station.blogspot.com/2011/08/dookudu-audio-review.html
http://70emem.com/2011/08/25/dookudu-audio-review/
I personally like adventurous epic films like Mackenna’s Gold & Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Last Ark. And I am a big fan of a film, Romancing the Stone and I always wanted to see Mahesh Babu in such an adventurous film.
At that point of time in the same lines,Yugaaniki Okkadu had released. Sreenu Vaitla garu liked the movie & we were happy that the film got a good response. So for couple of days we discussed one or two lines in this pattern. Something was missing in our discussions and we were not happy with the way it was progressing. So, we dropped the idea of attempting an adventure film.
Then Sreenu garu suggested that we should think about period or historical themes, again. He wanted to surprise the audience with his making. Magadheera & Arundhati films were our inspiration to attempt such big budget themes at that point of time.
At that time I was in discussions with K.Raghavendra Rao garu for his new film titled Intinta Annamayya. One day J.K.Bharavi garu & K.Raghavendra Rao garu narrated a mythological subject Ravanabrahma. I was surprised and shocked when I heard the content of the subject and its histrionics. Bharavi garu is a very good story teller.
Immediately I referred his name to Sreenu vaitla garu. He sat with writer Bharavi garu who has very good knowledge on such themes. They both discussed about many mythological and historical themes.
Mahesh Babu was doing Khaleja and many changes were going on in the production side of the film. Pressure was building on everyone involved in Khaleja because of the delay due to various reasons. Mahesh Babu left the entire headache of finalizing the story on Vaitla ji and he got busy in Khaleja’s shooting. Mahesh Babu is a big fan of Sreenu Vaitla ji’s film ‘Anandam’. He also liked Sreenu Vaitla ji’s comic timing and humour. But neither he nor the producers pressurized Sreenu garu to do a film with his brand of comedy. Sreenu garu updated every phase of our discussions to Mahesh Babu. He supported, believed and trusted Sreenu Vaitla’s talent a lot. And he never said no or expressed any doubt on whatever Sreenu ji had narrated.
One day, Sreenu garu called me and said that we have to take a decision on finalizing the subject. He felt that it was not the right time for planning an epic film. Khaleja was getting delayed and everyone wanted our project to release atleast by summer of 2011. He spoke to many people, friends and distributors. Every one felt that Mahesh & Sreenu Vaitla combination was a fresh combination and many of them expected a hilarious entertainer.
By then, Namo Venkatesa had completed 75 days. Around this time Sreenu garu dropped the idea of doing an epic movie and he opted to work on a love story which we narrated him in the beginning of our discussions.
So, after few days of our initial discussions Sreenu Vaitla garu, Co Director Surya, writer Sreedhar Seepana, assistant directors Ramesh & Bobby Chowdhary and I planned a trip to Mahabhaleswar, near Pune where we stayed for a week or so.
topic continues….
DHOOKUDU work actually started in december 2009.
Sreenu Vaitla ji confirmed the project with 14 reels entertainment.
Then i along with my friends started working on several lines.
My friends Sreenivas Tagore(we call him toopran sreenivas),writer Sreedhar Seepana and Jonathan(he is an ardent fan of modern cinema and now directing Prayanikudu film) and i started discussing several concepts.
I got an idea to work on an action love story.My feeling is Mahesh Babu never did a complete action love story.
Okkadu in a way is an action love story without a proper focus on love story.
Then i immediately got few ideas on that and started discussing with friends.We planned a personal trip discussing this to Goa.I took the attached photograph there only.We developed Hilarious scenes with lots of action and romance.
Then we narrated our initial version to Sreenu Vaitla garu.
They felt happy and we are on the job.
Mean While NAMO VENKATESA movie released and it got very good 1st week response and then fared reasonably well.
After Dhee and Ready,people are expecting something else but we made this film in the same genre.At that time many pictures came in these lines and people felt bit monotony.So I and Sreenu garu started discussing whether we should continue the same entertaining comedies or to change our pattern entirely.Some where some one has to take an U turn.And one has to know where to stop.Stakes and expectations are raising high for every movie.Trends are also changing every day.We have to take care in every aspect of film making for every film and every year.Even a small mistake costs a lot.After Andharivaadu he seriously took care of his films and he tried to maintain his mark for every film upto Namo Venkatesa.He is happy to introduce his long time friends Gopichand Achanta,Ram Achanta and Anil Sunkara with Namo Venkatesa film.They are also very grateful to sreenu vaitla garu and happy with the film.So the relationship continued with Mahesh Babu project also.Producers told Sreenu Vaitla garu not to compromise on Mahesh Babu film.They even told us that they can risk to any extent in budget wise if the subject is good.They want to do a memorable project.
At this point of time Sreenu Vaitla garu want to do something different and he want to show Mahesh Babu in an epic movie.
He has one period subject in mind.And he narrated that line to me.I liked the concept but then i and our producers started thinking practically.It need proper planning and time to execute.Already Mahesh Babu film is getting delayed and his audience want to see him in more movies.I started buying books and watching epic movies to develop the line.
topic continues……..
