After a gap of nearly five years, director R.R. Madan is out with Garam — starring Aadi and Adah Sharma. The film is slated for a February 12 release.
Departing from his brand of “sensible” films, the director says has now come up with an all out entertainer — but with a message.
Madan’s name is synonymous wit the 2004 Nandi-award winning film Aa Naluguru. “I debuted as an assistant cameraman to S. Gopal Reddy and worked in Manasantha Nuvvue,” says Madan. With Aa Naluguru he turned writer and then director with his next film Pellaina Kothalo.
“I also worked for Doordarshan for some time too, making documentaries,” adds the director, who was born and brought up in Madanapalle, Chitoor. “And “Actually the first play I wrote was a big mess. My lecturer then told me that the idea was good but the construction of the story was wrong. So from then onwards I read a lot of literature.”
He soon started taking an interest in his surroundings too. “That’s how I wrote the story of Aa Naluguru, which was about a common man,” he says.
Following this, he approached many producers with the same kind of serious subjects, but no one supported him. “The market is not viable for these subjects as most producers want to add entertainment.”
Madan then decided to turn producer himself and made Pellaina Kothalo, which gave him his next success. He went on to make two more films, Gunde Jhallumandi and Pravarakyudu.
Madan defends producers and their hesitation to take up serious cinema.
“I don’t blame producers, because if the market itself guarantees at least half the investment then they’ll have no trouble. But they have to really struggle to promote the film — they don’t want the risks. These days, most films are 80 per cent comedy and 20 per cent story,” says Madan.
About Garam, he explains that it’s a full-on entertainer and that the word is used in many ways. “Garam is used when someone gets angry, or in a romantic way too,” he says.
The film had started one and a half years ago, but the producers had left midway and Sai Kumar, Aadi’s father, took over. “Once it was taken over by Sai Kumar, I worked freely. The outcome is great and I am confident that the film will be a hit,” says Madan.
