'Tuck Jagadish' will stream on Amazon Prime from September 10. In this interview, producer Sahu Garapati of Shine Screens talks about the Nani-starrer, the direct OTT release, his future projects and more.
Our movie 'Majili' was a family film. We wanted to make a film with a big span after that. Director Shiva Nirvana knows how to handle emotional subjects. We zeroed in on Nani garu because he can emote a wide range of emotions. He comes across as a son, a friend, a brother... 'Tuck Jagadish' is entirely driven by familial emotions. It has been years since we have seen an emotional film of this sort.
Thaman was supposed to compose the BGM for 'TJ'. But due to some reasons, we roped in Gopi Sundar. The subject is an emotional one and he would suit more, we felt. Moreover, director Nirvana has previously worked with him twice.
The run-time is 140 minutes. It's a wholesome emotional package. We waited for a theatrical release for several months. We can't hold it forever amid the fear of the third wave. The shoot was completed in December last.
The exhibitors are unhappy about us skipping the theatres. They have their perspective. We are not hurting anybody. We have the support of the film industry at large. A producer, an actor, a director would want the audience to watch his movie and appreciate it. 'Tuck Jagadish' is a festival film. We are happy that families will be able to watch it together at home on Prime. Even in the US, theatres are yet to be reopened fully. In many parts of India, theatres are not operating at full capacity.
While 'TJ' is a family film first, there is fun as well. There are a lot of relationships at play in the story. The comedy is secondary, while emotions have a pride of place.
'TJ' is a heavy-budget movie. The global theatrical market has to be working at its fullest capacity if we have to recover the costs. Since that's not the case, we chose a direct OTT release.
At one point, we wanted to release 'TJ' on August 13 in theatres. Any day, theaters are the most accessible mode. This is September and night curfews are still in force.
Definitely, the size of the business offered by the theatrical business is bigger than that of OTT. We have seen its potential in the case of 'Jathi Ratnalu' and 'Uppena'. But a film like 'Vakeel Saab' had to lose out with the coming of the second wave.
I am hoping that everything will be alright in a few months. Our banner has got a few films lined up. Without hope, nothing can be done in life.
Our movie with Naga Chaitanya garu will be announced soon. Vijay Deverakonda garu's film will have to wait. The Anil Ravipudi-Balakrishna garu movie will be announced for Dasara.
