T-town filmmakers serve liberal dose of green forests' to viewers

Undoubtedly, T-town stars like Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun, Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Venkatesh and Rana Daggubati have spent more time in thick jungles over plains in the last few years. They delivered blockbusters like ‘RRR’  “Pushpa’ and ‘Narappa’ to inspire more filmmakers to join the fray  “Forests are intrinsic part of our story in Pushpa 1 and 2, so we have shot at thick jungles near Rajahmundry, Seshachalam forests in Chittoor and other places to give our film visually-pleasing backdrop. Our film revolves around red sanders smugglers and it has to be made in dense jungles by overcoming hiccups while shooting in actual locations. None-the-less, the lush green backdrop and opulent water bodies have given a fillip to our action adventure and invariably fascinated fans and viewers alike,” says producer Ravi Shankar Yallamanchili.  

Even films like ‘Acharya,’ ‘Virata Parvam’, ‘Konda Polam’ and ‘Aranya’ had been shot in thick jungles but they couldn’t spin box office magic  “Just shooting in forests doesn’t guarantee success, rather it has to have an interesting story. Only then the backdrop comes into play, otherwise it is a waste of time and money,” says producer C Kalyan.

However, producer Suresh Babu hints about cost escalation while shooting in deep rooted forests. “Such locations shoot up the production cost and we have to be wary about it. We need to venture into forests only if the script demands it. In fact, in 1990, we made a film titled ‘Bobbili Raja’ in the forests. It was a bit expensive at that point as well. While recently made ‘Narappa’ had captured the best of terrains and greenery in the forest region near Anantapur district," added Suresh.

Apart from cost, what about threats from the wildlife, we wonder. "More than the threat of wild animals, unit members are usually advised to be cautious about leeches during the rainy season. For instance, a few snakes and small insects also fall into the precautionary lists, for the skin rashes they could cause. It’s important to remember that as we are encroaching into their territory, we have to take every step watchfully," Suresh adds.

Whereas for director Venu Udugula, who made ‘Virata Parvam, forests add grandeur to the film, ”Jungle charm is unmatched and we have to capture the scenic beauty by overcoming all fears. If forest is one of the characters in the film, then it would add more value,” explains Venu and adds, "I believe every forest has its own story to tell and they have remained spectators to many good and bad events happening right before its eyes."