Villages new canvas for Telugu makers

It looks like T-town filmmakers are rushing to villages to make some heart-touching movies and also give a fresh backdrop for their stories. New release ‘Bheemadevarapalli Branchi,’ joins the list of village-centric movies like ‘Balagam’, ‘Virupaksha’, ‘Intinti Ramayanam,’  ‘Dasara’, “Sir’ and ‘Virata Parvam’ to name a few, changing the face of Telugu cinema. "It is like going back to our roots and surely a welcome change in the industry.

Even Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Bheemla Nayak’ was set in a village backdrop. Hence, it is the story that decides the backdrop,” says producer Abhishek Nama who is looking for a village-centric script to make a quick buck.

“Such films are in vogue because it cuts our production costs by 60 to 70% besides such down-to-earth stories are loaded with heart-wrenching emotions that draw in crowds. I will dish out one shortly,” he adds.

Probably, the shoe-string budget also attracted noted producer Bogavalli Prasad, who made lavish films like ‘Nannakku Prematho’ and ‘Tholi Prema’ in picturesque London to make a village-centric movie ‘Virupaksha’ recently.  "We made this film with a decent budget without any compromise as we liked the story narrated by young director Karthik.  We just shot a few portions in a village near Araku, but spent a lot on erecting special sets to give more creative freedom to our director and support his vision for a gripping and spine-chilling thriller. It scored big at the box office,” he points out.

More than budgets, young director Venu Udugulla, who made village-based movie ‘Virata Parvam’, brings in a new perspective to this new trend. “Till now, Telugu mainstream movies mostly showcased the lives of feudal lords. Audiences have only seen swanky lifestyles of hero and heroine who live in lavish bungalows and run in green-rich fields but that reflects only the creamy layer of the society.

Whereas, a major population lives in remote villages, who have been overlooked by mainstream filmmakers, so this new trend augurs well,” he says and adds, “I would continue making films showcasing the living conditions of small farmers, tribes, Dalits or weavers and bring their lives on to big screen. Tamil filmmakers like Vetrimaran and Pa Ranjith have exposed the social injustice through their hard-hitting movies, so we can also do it,” he reasons.