If director S Narayan and his son Pankaj’s confidence levels are anything to go by, it seems their forthcoming film Cheluvina Chilipili will make it big. The film, Pankaj’s second film as a full-fledged hero, is set to hit the silver screen on August 28 across Karnataka.
Narayan is known for his versatility in Sandalwood. He not only handles the megaphone but also acts in selected films, provides music, script, screenplay, dialogues and has even penned lyrics. He introduced his son Pankaj as a child
artiste in the film Veeru in which Umasri played a key role. The film bombed at the
box office. After a few years, Narayan launched Chaitrada Chandrama with Pankaj as the hero and Amulya as heroine.
(Amulya became famous with the success of Cheluvina Chiththaara. It was directed by Narayan while Ganesh played the hero). Chaitrada Chandrama
too failed at the box office. However, Narayan is not ready to get cowed down yet. He claims that Chaitrada Chandrama completed 50 days at a few theatres. However, a few adverse reviews on Cheluvina... had sent Narayan into hiding for a while. Those days are gone, Narayan has now decided totake the media by storm and get maximum publicity for his `Cheluvina Chilipili’. While requesting media to encourage his son Pankaj, he recalled how his son was in tears after reading the reviews on Chaitrada Chandrama. “I advised him not to worry. I
asked him to be determined that he will become a good hero. I think that he would win the appreciation of the audience through Cheluvina Chilipili,” said Narayan.
Pankaj too is over-enthusiastic about his latest film. “I was a student when my father offered me the hero’s role in the film Chaitrada Chandrama. I had no clue about the script of that film. Now, my father was kind enough to tell me the script of Cheluvina Chilipili in advance. It enabled me to understand the hero’s character
and prepare for the film,” says Pankaj.
A major part of the film has been shot at Rajahmundry and its surrounding locations and a few songs have been shot in Austria. “I would like to visit
Rajahmandry more than Austria.
Its greenery and the 3.5- km long railway bridge on Godavari are a visual treat. Our’s is the first Kannada film to be shot at Rajahmandry,” adds Pankaj.