'Anni Manchi Sakunamule' ('AMS' from now) is slated to hit the cinemas on May 18. In this interview, producers Swapna Dutt and Priyanka Dutt of Swapna Cinema throw light on the Santosh Shoban-Malvika Nair family drama.
They also talk about the persuasions that made them take up a series of landmark movies (read 'Yevade Subrahmanyam', 'Mahanati', 'Jathi Ratnalu' and 'Sita Ramam'). Saying that they believe to make themselves available on set so that decision-making is prompt, the producers say that cost overruns are only to be expected for most of the projects.
When 'Mahanati' was planned to be made in Rs 10 Cr, their father (C Aswini Dutt) smiled and predicted that it would take about Rs 25 Cr. Since then, Swapna and Priyanka have become more learned. In this interview, they share their views at length.
'AMS' is a simple story with no twists and turns. It is akin to a memorable sojourn, like going to your grandmother's hometown during the Summer holidays. The story takes place in the backdrop of a hill station. It was our long-time wish to set a film against the backdrop of Coonoor. When director Nandini Reddy narrated the story, we saw an opportunity there. The director created a fictional town where the audience will be transported while watching the movie. The visual flavour is unique. It was an expensive decision not to set the story in a typical backdrop.
Nandini Reddy is a talented filmmaker. 'Ala Modalaindi', 'Kalyanam Vaibhogame' and 'Oh Baby' were unique in different ways. 'AMS' is once again different.
No character is there in our films for the heck of it. Every character exists for a reason. In the case of 'AMS', the story involves two close-knit families. That's why the casting is elaborate. Vasuki (of 'Toli Prema' fame) is a good friend. We wanted to cast her for long. She has been cast in the sister's role. Gautami garu was a collective decision. The emotions in 'AMS' are tender and soft.
If there is a good story to be communicated to the audience, it has to be told regardless of whether it is a big-scale film or a small-scale film. That's why we are doing 'AMS' when we are doing a huge film like 'Project K'. Our philosophy changed with 'Yevade Subrahmanyam'. As far as we are concerned, it is the biggest project in our lives. We usually don't like to make multiple projects simultaneously. We don't have that bandwidth. As producers, we like to be thoroughly involved during the making. Due to delays caused by Covid-19, we have had to handle more than two projects simultaneously.
With every hit, pressure mounts on us. Every project we fell in love with has worked with the audience. We have to first fall in love with a script for us to want to be passionate about the project. 'Sita Ramam' gave us satisfaction more than confidence. It was a challenge at every step. Its budget was high. Its hero (Dulquer) was a non-Telugu star. The project's landing costs were huge. We had to swim against the tide to make that film. Its success gave us another level of satisfaction.
When it comes to casting, we both and Nag Ashwin sit together and take decisions. We sometimes consult our dad (Ashwini Dutt). Our decisions are always collective. We don't make casting decisions keeping a non-Telugu release in mind. It didn't happen with 'Sita Ramam' or any other film of ours, including 'AMS'.
If you go on making financial calculations, you can complete no project (laugh). Our father never made movies on Vyjayanthi Movies based on commercial calculations. We have worked with Prabhas (on 'Project K'), Santosh Shoban and Dulquer because those scripts needed them. No other considerations went into opting any of them. We will produce movies as long as we remain relevant. When we lose relevance, we will step back. Technically speaking, 'AMS' shouldn't have been made (if commercial considerations alone have to matter). We went by intuition. Even 'Mahanati' was done because our gut told us the audience will like it.
Each film is different. 'Jathi Ratnalu' might inspire more confidence in Nag Ashwin than one of us. Nobody can predict the outcome accurately and uniformly. Every film is a learning experience, regardless of its BO performance and budget. We have always gone ahead with production only after the bound script is ready. Despite that, some wastage happens.
'Project K' (starring Prabhas and directed by Nag Ashwin) has nothing to do with 'Dune' (English). We are the ones doing the film, so we know what it is about! Seventy percent of the shoot is over.
People are flocking to theatres. We released 'Jathi Rantalu' when the situation was tricky in 2021 (during the second wave of the pandemic). Theatres are synonymous with entertainment. They are the cheapest source of entertainment, at least single screens.
