Anni Manchi Sakunamule, starring Santosh Soban and Malvika Nair, hit the screens today. Ahead of the film’s release, director Nandini Reddy speaks to the Hyderabadi media about AMS, directing the film with complete freedom for the first time, and more.
Nandini Reddy’s latest directorial, titled Anni Manchi Sakunamule (AMS), hit the screens today. Shot in Coonoor (Coorg), AMS tells the tale of two families living in a fictional town called Victoria Puram. What a unique way to name a town, isn’t it? The generational conflict between the two families who once jointly owned a coffee estate, Nandini says, is what drives the film forward. The film features a stellar cast: Santosh Soban, Malvika Nair, Sowcar Janaki, Vasuki Anand, Gautami, Rajendra Prasad, and Naresh.
The Oh! Baby filmmaker is known for directing some of the most sensible films to date. She began her career with Ala Modalaindi (2011), which catapulted Natural Star Nani’s career. Later, she directed Jabardasth (2013), which didn’t do as expected at the box office. Nandini’s last two theatrical releases, Kalyana Vaibhogame (2016) and Oh! Baby (2019), were massive box-office hits. Anni Manchi Sakunamule is by far one of her most ambitious films.
“AMS is an out-and-out fictional story!” asserted Nandini before letting the local media in on the crux of AMS. “There’s no connection to anything. There’s a reason why we named the town Victoria Puram. It’s set somewhere between the Andhra and Tamil Nadu borders. The coffee cultivated in the fictional town of Victoria Puram used to go all the way to Queen Victoria because she had an Indian chef named Kabir Khan. For that reason, the town prospered. Over time, the town came to be known as Victoria Puram. The coffee estate was owned by two families, and AMS is about what happens after a fallout between these two families. It’s all about generational conflict.”
It’s a tedious task to make sense of each and every character in a screenplay. In general, a film is around two hours long, and a filmmaker’s job is to tell a moving or entertaining story. Not everyone can do that. There are so many popular directors who’ve been trying to perfect their craft for years, but only a few succeed. The Kalyana Vaibhogame director feels she’s given her best for AMS.
“There are about seven primary characters in the film,” informed Nandini. “Apart from Santosh and Malvika, other characters have their own importance. Everything is tied up. I like stories where everything is connected, but they’re very difficult to write.”
She told the media that this was the first time she was in a position to direct a film with complete freedom. “While writing the story, finding that space in order to carefully and minimally do justice to each character was crucial. I didn’t waste a single scene. Generally, I pack all my punches in the second half. I’ve written one of the best climaxes for AMS. Out of all the films that I’ve made, the last twenty minutes can be considered my career’s best. I am very confident about the film. This is the first time I went with what the story demanded. I wanted to do justice to the story,” said Nandini.
Veteran actress Sowcar Janaki will be seen playing an important character in the film. When asked about what compelled her to cast an actor of such stature, she said, “I honestly needed somebody of that age. And more than anything, the story demanded her presence. Apart from Sowcar Janaki Garu, is there any other personality that you can think of where Rajendra Prasad Garu would also fold his hands and stand? There’s no one, right? Then I asked Swapna if it was possible to cast Sowcar Garu. Somehow we convinced her, and she stepped on board.”
A little known fact about AMS is that Nandini Reddy started working on the story around 2017–2018. This was way before Oh! Baby’s release. The film is produced by Swapna Cinema in association with Mitravinda Movies. Producer Swapna and Nandini locked the story well ahead of schedule and decided to begin the work on it once they’re done and dusted with prior commitments.
“I started working on this story before Oh! Baby. Writers are never satisfied with their stories. We always try to fine-tune the story. Throughout COVID-19, we kept working. For me, success is being able to tell a story that I want to tell with absolute freedom. The day I have a story that demands a bigger star, I will definitely do it. I do have an ambition to make bigger films, but what stopped me was the lack of writing ability to land at it.”
Oh! Baby was released in 2019, and it was a huge hit. Just when Nandini’s career was back on track, COVID hit the world, and things flipped. So did the casting choice. Vijay Deverakonda was the first choice for the lead. However, his image took a different shape, and the makers went ahead with Santosh Soban.
“When we first thought of Vijay, it was during the Pelli Choopulu phase. At that time, Vijay had Santosh’s image. The one of a boy next door Later, it all changed. Santosh is perfect for this role. He can emote well, and he’s got great comedy timing. During the Pelli Choopulu phase, Vijay was that, but his image changed,” said the director.
Nandini Reddy couldn’t be more excited for the release of her film. It is apparent that AMS is extremely personal to her. In one of her recent interviews, she said each character has a bit of her. Another piece of good news is that her next project with Siddu Jonnalagadda and Samantha is rumoured to kick off in the near future.
