Santosh Sobhan’s Sridevi Shoban Babu is all set to release on big screens on February 18. The director of the film, Prasanth Kumar Dimmala, spoke about how the movie happened, his lead actor, and more.
PNS | Hyderabad
Sridevi Shoban Babu, written and directed by Prasanth Kumar Dimmala, stars Santosh Sobhan and Gouri G. Kishan in the titular roles. The romantic drama, which is bankrolled by Vishnu Prasad and Sushmita Konidela, is going to be released on February 18.
Filmmaker Prasanth and actor Santosh go a long way. Years ago, when the debutant was not allowed to go to a shooting spot, it was Santosh’s father, Sobhan (director of Varsham (2002), starring Prabhas), who allowed the young Prasanth to watch the shoot, and he even got him pictures with Prabhas and Prabhu Deva. Prasanth was even counselled by the late, great director, who advised him to finish his studies before venturing into full-time filmmaking. Now, completing a full circle, Prasanth joined hands with the late director’s son, of Paper Boy fame, Santosh Sobhan, for Sridevi Shoban Babu.
Talking about the many reasons why he cast Santosh in the film, the debutant said, “Santosh is not someone who hurts people. I always liked the way he treated the people around him. And I thought he’d be a good fit for the character I had in mind for this film. I really liked him in that part. It felt great looking at him in that moustache on the first day of the shoot. I wanted to see him play an innocent character on screen.”
Now that the film is produced by Sushmita Konidela, daughter of Megastar Chiranjeevi, the director shared a nice little anecdote about how Sridevi Shoban Babu came to life in the first place: “Sushmita Garu was at this cafe with her kids. Coincidentally, Santosh and I were also present at the cafe. And now that Santosh had already acted in a few webseries, Sushmita Garu recognised him and spoke to him. Once that was done, Santosh and I decided to make a move. Santosh almost left, but then I walked up to Sushmita Garu and said, “Good evening, Akka. I am a huge fan of Chiranjeevi Garu.” Then she asked me, “What do you do?” And when I told her that I work on stories, she took my number and got back to me in five days. I know it was not right on my part to approach her for work when she was out with her family, but I didn’t want to regret it later. That’s how it all happened, and things worked out.”
It looks like Prasanth’s only intention is for people to watch his maiden picture with their families. “There are a few films that I grew up watching. If you watch films like Indra or Tagore, they leave a great impact on you. Sometimes we start behaving like the characters in the film. I like the idea of everyone watching a film together, and I made Sridevi Shoban Babu with the same thought. If someone says, “Amma! Let’s all watch Sridevi Shoban Babu together,” that’s enough. I wanted to tell a pure and fresh story set in a village backdrop.”
With Sridevi Shoban Babu, the filmmaker wanted to capture the innocent lives of small-town people. The director himself hails from a small town located in Andhra Pradesh, and he informed me that he wanted to tell the stories of those people, whom he had observed for most of his life. Recalling some of his experiences, he ended, “Coming from Anapalle, I noticed so many people in small towns who are very innocent. I still remember the sight of people going to sleep by 7:30 at night. They all would gather with their foldable beds and sit and talk for a while, then go to sleep. Also, they don’t hold any grudges against anyone, and they always look out for one another. I really liked all those things. That’s what my characters are all about. Another interesting thing about the film is that we picked many local artists.”
The young filmmaker’s attempt to present a simple romantic drama set in a small town looks genuine. With two back-to-back flops, Santosh Sobhan is placing all his bets on Sridevi Shoban Babu. Nagababu and Rohini Molleti will also be seen playing important characters in this film. The film’s trailer has received over two million views. Traditionally, films set in a village have performed well. More recently, Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam was one such film that received positive feedback from the Telugu audience.
