The emotion in the film will ‘Hunt’ the audience

Writer-Director Mahesh Surapaneni interacted with the media ahead of the release of his upcoming film Hunt, and shared some insights about the film, and recalled the support that he has received from Bhavya Creations throughout.

PNS | HYDERABAD

Nitro Star Sudheer Babu who’s known for films such as Prema Katha Chitram, Sammohanam and V will be seen donning the role of a ripped cop in Mahesh Surapaneni’s Hunt. The film is going to hit the screens this Republic Day. Produced by Ananda Prasad of Bhavya Creations, Hunt stars Sudheer Babu, actor Srikanth Meka and Tamil star Bharat in the leading roles.

Writer-Director Mahesh Surapaneni, who debuted as a director with Kathalo Rajakumari in 2017 interacted with the local film media ahead of the films’ release.

If writing a script is considered to be a tough task, getting the film on board is even tougher. However, it all worked out in Mahesh’s favour, when he randomly pitched the idea for Hunt while narrating a different story. “It was confirmed that I’d be making a film under the Bhavya Creations. First, we thought we’d make a love story but then we went ahead with a spy-thriller. One fine day, I was narrating the story to the heroes and out of nowhere I shared the idea for Hunt. Coincidentally, I finished writing the script for Hunt even before the spy-thriller. We then thought it’d be great to make this film with Sudheer Babu. He okayed the project within two days after the narration.”

Over the years, we have watched many films that have used ‘memory loss’ as a character flaw. Addressing the question of whether the film is going to have the same old point of the hero tracing back his memory, the filmmaker explained that Hunt would have a new angle. The drama is going to be compelling when compared to the previous films in the same genre. “The narrative takes a turn when the hero has to solve the mystery. We tried to tell the story from a different perspective and I’m sure the audience will walk out of the theatre feeling satisfied,” asserted Mahesh.

Making a film is like going to war. A lot of people work selflessly to achieve the final product. When directors have the lead cast and the producers in their court, half their problems vanish. Director Mahesh feels he has been extremely lucky to find Sudheer Babu. “He’s extremely committed to the craft. He’s someone who gives his opinion and ultimately leaves the final decision to the director. Also, this film doesn’t have a heroine and commercial heroes have a checklist to sign films. He didn’t think of all these things and stood by my side,” explained Mahesh.

Speaking of the support that he received from Ananda Prasad of Bhavya Creations, Mahesh said, “I worked under director Teja’s department. My association with Bhavya Creations goes a long way. They produced my debut film as well. All these years, they’ve taken care of me really well. Despite my first film being a failure at the box office, Ananda Prasad Garu and executive producer Anne Ravi Garu gave me another wonderful opportunity to make a film like Hunt on such a large scale. This film wouldn’t have happened without their support and backing. I’m really thankful to them.”

Hunt is an action film and the makers went the extra mile and hired stunt choreographers Renaud Favero and Bryan Viger who are best known for their work in John Wick 4. They even shot a couple of action sequences in the wonderful city of Paris. “Sudheer Babu has been following these stunt masters on Instagram for quite some time and one day he showed their work. Later, I spoke to them on video call and decided to go ahead with them. I wanted the fight sequences to look realistic and I found their work to be really close to reality. Initially, it was difficult to converse with them but later we got used to it. We thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to fly them to India because they wouldn’t strike the right balance with our stuntmen. Therefore, we flew to Paris and shot a sequence that takes place in a parking lot. In the film, the setting doesn’t shift to Paris. It’s just that we shot the sequence there to make the choreographer’s job easy.”

What to expect from the action heavy ‘Hunt’? Well! We’re wrong to think that Hunt is just an action film. “Looking at the teaser and trailer of the film, people are thinking Hunt is all about action but the film runs on emotion. There’s a strong emotion between all the main characters(Sudheer Babu, Srikanth Meka, and Bharat). I am sure the emotion will ‘Hunt’ them throughout the film. Hunt is going to be a memorable film for Sudheer Babu,” wrapped the Hunt director.