Director Chandrasekhar Yeleti of Sahasam (2013) fame, is happy about the response he has been receiving on the Mohanlal - Gautami starrer trilingual. Namadhu in Tamil, Manamantha in Telugu and Vismayam in Malayalam. To him, bringing Mohanlal to do a film in Telugu after 23 years was indeed a huge challenge.
“I have always attempted to do something interesting and fresh as far as the execution of stories is concerned. Then, I thought why not I do an anthology! When I told Mohanlal to listen to the story, he connected with the script and said ‘yes’ to it immediately. After completing the script, I thought Lalettan would be the apt choice, so we got his appointment through art directot Sabu Cyril. After all, I wanted a commercial hit,” says Chandrasekhar.
Speaking about Mohanlal, he says, the Malayalam actor is someone who gives a lot of attention to the details. “That’s one of the reasons why Lalettan and I gel quite easily. In a way, it meant pressure — because there was a question in the back of my mind if I was doing justice to Mohanlal’s character. I need to be careful because he has a certain image and I had to do something, which goes by that without disappointing the audience. You just need to tell him what you want, he’ll give more than that,” he adds.
Quiz him on helming an anthology, Chandrasekhar smiles, “Writing this film was kind of difficult because of its content. It might look simple. But simplest things are often hard to narrate.”
He quickly adds, “An anthology film is one feature product of several short episodes or stories with an underlying theme running across all of them. Switching emotions on and off wasn’t easy. The process took more time as I wrote the story and screenplay myself. I’d say Manamantha was different from the previous films I’ve made. I was confident that the story would appeal to all sections of the audience.”
Also, the director tells how Lalettan doesn’t intrude into his space much. “The best part of being in this film is there were no egos among the actors and crew. It was a fun set to be in. Lalettan was determined to do dubbing on his own. He learnt Telugu and worked hard on it,” he tells City Express.
Ask Chandrasekhar why he has just made six films in 13 years, he laughs, “I focus on quality, and not quantity. Whatever I have done so far are close to my heart. But a few projects had been cancelled midway. The delay is because I am particular that I write the stories for all my films.” His formula is simple. “I believe in the style of filmmaking that entertains people. It’s not about showcasing how intelligent I am as a filmmaker,” he says.
So, who’ll he choose from Kollywood if at all he’s directing his next in Tamil? “I like Suriya, but I am yet to watch 24,” he laughs. “I love Vikram Kumar’s films, especially, his Manam (2014),” he grins.