'Sridevi Soda Center', starring Sudheer Babu in the lead, will be released in theatres on August 27. In this interview, producers Shashi Devireddy and Vijay Chilla talk about making the film with Sudheer Babu, the challenges faced, the buzz it caught in the trade circles and more.
In the very first schedule, we faced a setback in the form of an accident on the sets. It worried us. Then someone in the crew got injured. A lot of negative things kept on happening. It's then we decided to go for a fresh start. After a new start, it was a smooth journey.
During the making 'Sridevi Soda Center', I (Vijay Chilla) lost my brother. There can't be a bigger disaster personally. We took a break for a month. By March this year, the production works were completed. As soon as the motion poster was out, we received a lot of calls from those in the trade. Even before we completed the shoot, the business deals were closed across languages.
Most of the drama in the film happens around a shop named Sridevi Soda Center. That's why the title.
After 'Anando Brahma', a lot of writers and directors came to us and narrated horror-comedies. We didn't find them interesting. We instead made 'Yatra', after whose release the writers came up with biopics. We have instead made a film like 'Sridevi Soda Center'.
We are not in a rush to make films, one after one. We want to ensure quality first. Director Karuna Kumar's 'Palasa' was raw and real. But 'Sridevi Soda Center' is not raw. It has a lot of realistic characters, though.
'Sridevi Soda Center' is mainly a love story that revolves around the caste system in a village. How the reality of life in the village has been captured in the film is something you have to watch on the big screen.
Mani Sharma garu's music will be a highlight. We wanted a composer who understands the rural sounds. He has not worked on an out-and-out rural film in the past. This is his first such film.
The censor formalities are over. We received UA and there were no cuts. We are going to add new theatres in the coming days. Right now, our movie is releasing in close to 500 screens in the Telugu States and 120 screens in the US.
We are searching for new scripts. A director is working on a script. If the bound script excites us eventually, we will take it to the floors. If we get a good story, we are open to working with a star hero. Everything depends on the story. When you approach a big star, he should not only like the script but also trust us, the producers. Good films have been supported by the likes of Mahesh Babu garu, Prabhas garu and Chiranjeevi garu. Mahesh garu will support us in a big way in the coming days.
