Director Krish Jagarlamudi stunned everyone by starring in Kondapolam with Panja Vaishnav Tej and Rakul Preet Singh in lead roles, while with his big-budget period drama Hari Har Veeramallu. Pawan Kalyan is in production. Kondapolam is an adaptation of the Telugu novel of the same name.
Krish Jagarlamudi recently interacted with the media. Conversation excerpts:
What kind of cinematic liberties have you taken to bring the Kondapolam novel to celluloid?
Sannapureddy Venkatarami Reddy, who wrote the novel Kondapolam, wrote a brilliant screenplay. It helped me a lot. The novel version does not feature Obulamma’s character. We made Obulamma and a beautiful love story from her perspective for the film. The protagonist of the novel is an IFS officer. But, in the flick, we see the character of the protagonist as an inferiority complex who struggles to achieve his dreams. To design Nayak, I took inspiration from the inspiring stories of people from rural backgrounds who have cracked the UPSC exam.
How did you come up with the idea of filming the novel Kondapolam?
Telugu directors met during the lockdown. There, during a casual conversation, director Indraganti Mohana Krishna and Sukumar suggested me to read the novel Kondapolam. After reading the novel, I was excited to adapt it.
A few years back, I had planned to direct a film with Venkatesh Daggubati, which was based on the novel Athadu Advani Jayinchadu. But, it didn’t work out. I am glad that my endeavor to direct a film based on a novel became a reality with Kondapolam.
How was it working with Vaishnav Tej and Rakul Preet?
Vaishnav is very fond of cinema. He is attentive and has the enthusiasm to accept and learn. He has a long way to go. Rakul has done a wonderful job in the film. She has toned her physique to suit her character Obulamma. I am blessed to have them on board.
Tell us about the tagline of the film- An epic story of becoming?
It is all about self-discovery. Every day we are living from struggle to struggle, and we may have to face many kinds of fears. But it is you who have to give yourself a moral boost. In my view, to be yourself is to believe in yourself and not give up.
How did you convince Pawan Kalyan to allow Kondapolam to run in between the shooting of Hari Har Veeramallu?
By the time I started shooting for Kondapolam, we had completed two schedules of Hari Har Veeramallu. During the lockdown, I did not want to leave the team idle without giving any work. So, I revealed my plans to make Kondapolam with the same team within a limited 45-day schedule before HHVM returned to filming again. Pawan Kalyan understood the situation and implemented my plans. Later, AM Ratnam (producer of HHVM) also gave permission to work on Kondapolam.
Till now, we have completed 50 per cent of the filming of Hari Har Veeramallu. We are planning to resume shooting for the film in November.
Because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, most of the filmmakers are choosing the OTT route, but you are releasing Kondapolam in theatres.
The film has gorgeous visuals, which can only be properly experienced in a theatre. We knew it would take at least six months to complete the VFX work, and we thought it would release in theaters in October. Everything happened according to plan. So, now here we are.
Tell us about your upcoming projects.
Rajeev Reddy and I are producing a web series for Hotstar under our First Frame Entertainment banner. The story is based on the novel Thomidi Gantalu by Malladi Venkata Krishnamurthy.
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