Actor Shiva Kandukuri was last year seen in 'Gamanam' and 'Meet Cute'. Known for 'Chusi Chudangane', the budding actor will be seen in this week's theatrical release 'Manu Charitra'. The film is directed by Bharath Pedagani, who grew up in Warangal and has therefore set the story of his maiden venture in that town. The hero's character is an amalgam of a few friends of his.
Starring Megha Akash, Priya Vadlamani, Pragati Shrivatsav and others, the film also features Suhaas, Dali Dhananjay, Srikanth Iyengar, Madhu Nandhan, Harishita Chowdary and Garima Kaushal have different roles. The film has music by Gopi Sundar.
Manu is my name in the film. The story takes place over a span of seven years. That's why the word 'Charitra' has been added to the title. The background, the premise helped us narrate a nice love story. The goondaism and college campus elements will be loved by the audience.
I was auditioning for some other project when 'Manu Charitra' came my way. I unexpectedly auditioned for this role. I had been wanting to do a commercial film of this sort. My previous films were not commercial in nature. They were driven by a templatish treatment. 'MC', on the other hand, is organic. There are no forced elements.
The director's detailing is superb. When he narrated the script in detail, he told me everything from the pacing of dialogue delivery to the mannerism of the protagonist, etc. He was given leniency with respect to the budget. Nothing is over-the-top in the movie. It was a conscious decision by the director not to objectify any female character. There is no profanity. There is no double-meaning dialogue. You will be able to watch 'MC' with your family.
The protagonist undergoes transformation and the reason behind the same is strong. 'MC' is not just a love story. There is a crime element involved. One of the romantic relationships in the movie is a crutch to narrate the crime subplot.
Gopi Sunder's music will surely click with the audience. For each situation, he gave us multiple tunes to pick from. The director made him inculcate native instruments for authenticity. There are full-fledged songs as well as bit songs. Editor Prawin Pudi was given a free hand. We didn't force him to retain any scene that he didn't deem fit. There was a favourite scene of mine and my director that the Editor did away with. We respected his decision.
My father (Shiva Kandukuri) feels that I have stepped out of my comfort zone to do this role. I am thankful that such a role has come my way in the initial years of my career.
'MC' was supposed to be released months ago. Due to human error committed by a third party, we lost some shot footage. We had to go back to sets. We lost about eight months of time. In the meantime, I did 'Bhoothaddam Bhaskar Narayana'. After 'BBN', I am also doing an offbeat film. It's a period social drama with a comical touch. It addresses a social issue that remains relevant even today. I have this dream of doing a sports film. It needn't be a biopic.
