Undoubtedly, revered Hindu gods Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva have become part of Telugu movies to revive the socio-fantasy genre in a big way. Instead of making usual mythological films around Hindu gods, new-generation directors are designing it as socio-fantasies to connect with new generation audiences along with god-believers.
While “Karthikeya 2’ set the box office on fire across India, Pawan Kalyan's Lord Krishna role in 'Gopala Gopala' also minted money in Telugu box office a few years ago. Now, with the big launch of ‘Kannappa’ by actor-producer Manchu Vishnu-set to glorify Lord Shiva and his relationship with his staunch devotee- set to change the face of Telugu cinema.
“Honestly, I didn’t set any trend or intended to change the face of Telugu cinema while I started ‘Karthikeya 2,” says new-age director Chandoo Mondeti, whose ‘Karthikeya 2’ showcased the invincible power of Lord Krishna. “I always been fascinated with Lord Krishna from my childhood and wondered about his enormous skills. He constructed a city called Dwarka to protect his people from enemies through air or water and then designed his weapon-Sudarshan Chakra-which has its own salient features to decimate evil forces. I tried to connect various dots between revered scriptures and new age books and discovered a lot about his immense knowledge. I travelled to various places and found his footmarks in more ways than one. I was baffled by his multi-tasking and innumerable feats” he adds.
On the other hand, he doesn’t subscribe to the view that Hindi film audiences are watching god-centric films like 'Karthikeya 2' and ‘OMG 2’, since there is Sanatan wave in the country under the BJP regime. “Hindu Gods have been worshipped for thousands of years due to the existence of Sanatana Dharma so our nation boasts of unprecedented god-believers. No doubt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been the most powerful leader in the world and carved a niche for himself, but connecting his popularity to movies' success is unfair,” he points out.
While Vishnu Manchu describes his new movie “Kannappa’ has a celebration of devotion. “At its core, lies the awe-inspiring transformation of Kannappa, an erstwhile atheist who underwent a profound metamorphosis into an unflinching devotee of Lord Shiva. His devotion resonates across temporal and cultural boundaries, solidifying his stature as one of history's most exceptional devotees. The honor of perpetuating this extraordinary legacy is a privilege I hold dear," he added.
On casting actors in divine roles, director Dolly urges for some caution. “Everyone can’t carry off such larger-than-life roles. But Pawan Kalyan has gained enough stature among the people, before I cast him as Lord Krishna in my film ‘Gopala Gopala’ and it struck a chord with masses because of its theme which glorified humanism and compassion and exposed fake godmen. Telugu movies boasted of many mythological masterpieces in the past but we have chosen socio-fantasy genres to connect with new age audiences much better and it has clicked,” he concludes.
