Producer TG Vishwa Prasad says that 'Rama Banam' is a family entertainer first and foremost. When director Sriwass brought the script to him, he knew People Media Factory must give its backing, as it involves time-tested elements such as heroism and brother sentiment.
In this interview, Prasad not only talks about the Gopichand-Jagapathi Babu release, but also about his prolific banner and its plans after an upbeat 2022 ('Karthikeya 2' and 'Dhamaka' were big hits).
"We are building an ecosystem in the industry. We are not just centered on making a film and leaving things to their fate. We are also building a studio," Prasad said, suggesting that the core infrastructure in Tollywood is being built in a corporate style.
Co-producer Vivek Kuchibotla has been instrumental at the banner.
The core of 'Rama Banam' is the brotherly drama. The brother sentiment comes with a soul of its own in the case of our film. There have been 'n' number of family films/entertainers, some of which possess a USP or a distinct core.
'Rama Banam' was under production for a year for different reasons. There was a gap of about 3-4 months for some reason after the hero injured himself while shooting for a project. Everything fell into place eventually. We could have released the movie in February, but we opted to release it in Summer.
When we made 'Goodachari', there was no formula in mind. It was not image-oriented either. We don't have any set target to do only big or only small movies. We don't believe in sticking to a single genre or formula just because it has worked once or twice commercially.
I am in the film industry owing to my passion for movies from childhood. I stayed in the US for three decades. I never lost my touch with Telugu cinema during those days.
We at People Media Factory are bringing in the corporate, factory model in planning. The strategizing and planning are driven by a process. When we started out, the idea was to produce as many films as possible. If we produce five, at least one of them will become a hit. That was the idea. We come from a corporate background. Even though I am a producer, I have been running the show at our tech business. A film producer needs to be passionate and I am aware of the demands of the industry.
My daughter is interested in producing movies in the future. She is working on the line production front on one of our movies starring Sharwanand. My son is interested in tech business. Our banner is also interested in anything related to cinema infrastructure. We have also made films in Tamil and Kannada. Although we have made a crossover film in the form of 'Nishabdham', our main focus is going to be Telugu cinema.
We are making a film with Power Star Pawan Kalyan (and Sai Dharam Tej, directed by Samuthirakani). Its title is yet to be finalized. We will talk about our movie with Prabhas at the right time. There is a strategy for everything. (When asked about the release date and other plans related to the biggies, the producer suggested that everything will be made official in due course of time)
As a producer, I never like to interfere on the creative front. I will only plan how things have to be planned on the production front.
We are currently making a number of films, including 'Goodachari 2'. We will do 'Karthikeya 3' sometime in the future after Chandoo Mondeti is done with his current commitments.
