Naveen Yerneni,Y Ravi Shankar and Chiranjeevi (Cheery), the producers of 'Pushpa', today spoke to the media ahead of the theatrical release of the Allu Arjun-starrer on December 17. Here are the highlights of what they said.
'Pushpa', the most-anticipated movie, will arrive at cinemas on December 17 on more than 3,000 screens (five languages) worldwide. Overseas premieres will be held on the 16th in the US. In the Telugu States, the film will be released on around 1,000 screens.
'Pushpa' has got a rare story. The run-time is close to 3 hours. Right from the start, the film is quite racy. There is no dull moment anywhere.
The film was shot in the toughest conditions. The story required a big span. We could complete the shoot in one year. The shoot began before the first lockdown. The actual shoot began last November.
Any producer dreams of making a pan-India movie. We are glad 'Pushpa' is a pan-India outing.
The Telugu audience are the best. The superb performance of 'Akhanda' has proved it yet again. We hope our movie, 'RRR', 'Radhe Shyam' and 'Bheemla Nayak', too, become huge hits.
In Tamil Nadu 'Doctor' and 'Annaatthe' have been blockbusters. In Hindi, 'Sooryavanshi' has made about Rs 200 Cr. If the content is strong, films are doing well despite the pandemic.
'KGF' had a Kolar Fields backdrop in every language. The backdrop is not renamed for other languages. Same goes for our movie.
You are going to see a new Allu Arjun garu. He is going to earn a huge name. So far, 40-50 people have watched 'Pushpa'. Everyone is unanimously agreeing that a new hero is going to be seen. He has not done a film of this sort before. That's why Sukumar garu has rebranded him as an Icon Star.
Shooting at the Maredumilli Forest was not easy. We shot in unexplored locations. Just the make-up and journey into the jungles took two hours each. Removing the make-up would take that much time.
It was our collective decision to cast Samantha garu for the item song. Fahadh Faasil garu is a huge star in Malayalam. During the pandemic, his OTT movies have done exceptionally well. He is now very popular in Telugu. He hasn't disappointed us even a bit. All major characters have a backstory of their own. Anasuya Bharadwaj will be a treat.
Ram-Lakshman and Peter Heins have composed the fights. The emotions and drama are unique. The film is not just about red sandalwood smuggling. The scenes are natural and rustic.
The budget is definitely high. We are confident of recovering the costs. In Hindi, 'Pushpa' will be released on about 1,000 screens. Allu Arjun garu has dubbed only for the Telugu version.
We haven't shown the trajectory of the story in the trailer. What is the point of showing everything in the trailer?
'Sarkaru Vaari Paata' will be our next release. We have 'Ante Sundaraniki' with Nani and 'Amigos' with Kalyanram. Balakrishna garu's film will go on the floors next month.
