Story is the biggest asset for Kalyanam Kamaneeyam: Director Anil

K. Ramya Sree

Anil Kumar Aalla, a Guntur native, is making his debut as a director with a rom-com Kalyanam Kamaneeyam stars our boy next door, Santosh Sobhan, in the lead role, while Kollywood actress Priya Bhavani Shankar is playing the female lead. Having come from a non-filmy background, his passion for movie making and writing drew him to the industry. He worked for Varahi earlier, and now Anil is super excited to make his directorial debut with UV Concepts.

An engaging and content-driven film dealing with marriage and associated issues, the film will open in theaters on January 14. The film’s trailer has already piqued many people’s interest due to its relatability and new-age story. However, the film is headed for a theatrical release at a time when some of the biggest films in the South industry are releasing at the same time.

Asked about the biggest asset the film has that Anil feels can help it fight its competitors, Anil, whose personal favourite genre is rom-com, said, “The story of the film is its biggest asset. Any film with high emotional values will work with the audience. Kalyanam Kamaneeyam’s story is very relatable. It is all about the series of events that happen in every married person’s life. Every married couple will relate to this.”

“My characters in the film have a lot of importance. Santosh and Priya delivered a terrifying performance. We are all very confident about the film’s success. Even the censor board members were very happy about the film,” he added.

Digging into the background of this new entrant, we found out how passionate Anil is about films. His passion brought him to where he stands now. He revealed exclusively to The Pioneer, “There is always a little apprehension about the movie industry. However, I have watched a lot of films since childhood. A lot of people influenced me to come to movies — mainly Mani Ratnam and Shankar garu. When I feel like watching any emotional films that are highly relatable, I like to watch Mani Ratnam sir’s films. On the other hand, when I feel like watching socially relevant films, I watch Shankar sir’s films. As a 90s kid, I enjoyed watching all their films.”

He also recalled how he used to bunk college to watch movies. An advantage that Anil has is that his entire family is fond of movies. They all love watching movies and called his family ‘movie lovers’.

“I am the third child. I have two older sisters. I have always been pampered at home. Even when I wanted to get into the movie industry, my family raised no objection.”

Anil considers himself to be very lucky to have gotten married to his wife, who not only supports him, but keeps him grounded. “My wife has been extremely supportive. Whenever I come up with any idea or a story, I first share it with her and she keeps me close to reality. She gives me a reality check every now and then, and it is because of her I am grounded. She is my first critic.”

Back to the film, we asked Anil which aspect of filmmaking—writing, directing, or screenplay—has given him an advantage, and he replied that he is better at writing. He feels he has a tinge to catch people’s pulse with his writing. He believes emotions play a key role in any film.

“My next project will be an action entertainer. But it will have family emotions, especially in the father-son relationship. Personally, my father is my inspiration. He is a retired LIC AO. We used to live in Guntur, but his posting was in Miryalaguda, Hyderabad. He would catch an early morning train from Guntur every day and return home at 11 at night. He used to travel from Guntur to Hyderabad everyday. It shows the importance he gives to his family. That is emotion, and you will see these kinds of emotions in my next film.”

Lastly, he concluded this interview by saying: “People will leave the theatre carrying with them many emotions. They will relate to the characters. They will feel like they are watching themselves on big screens.

I wrote this story imagining a character who is like the boy-next-door. Santosh was my first choice. I narrated the story to Santosh first and he okayed it immediately.”