After the political thriller Leader, independent director Sekhar Kammula is back with another movie, returning to his feel-good genre. 'Life is Beautiful', which will hit screens next month, is a movie along the lines of his previous movie 'Happy Days', except that while the latter was about college days, the former is a celebration of life itself.
However, what sets the movie apart from his previous ones, and the industry in general, is its format. Partnering with corporate brands like Vodafone and Pantaloons, these companies have been an integral part of the making of the movie, right from scratch.
Starting in 2010, the director, through Vodafone, launched his hunt for the main cast of the film. Those interested could sign up or pick up an application at a Vodafone store and post them. From an overwhelming response of over 50,000 entries, the director finally cherry-picked his cast. A total of 11 amateurs were picked up from different walks of lives and put together to make Life is Beautiful.
Post that, the movie which is now in its promotional stage, is getting a boost from the mobile company, with them offering a special pack called the Youth Pack. Besides offering top-up vouchers and group calling at subsidised rates, customers will also get an opportunity to be in Kammula’s next project.
While the director hopes that corporates sponsoring indie-films will pick up as a trend, the movie is something more of a personal diary to him. “The movie tells of all the things I remember from my childhood, the different stages of growing up and the beauty of being naïve. It is reminiscent of the times at my grandmother’s house, playing in the garden, young love, the mistakes we made, and just being young and free. We’ve made it with that same innocence,” exclaimed Kammula, who is also producing the film through his company, Amigos Creations.
The nouveau actors who were introduced, were a gushing lot, enthusiastically calling out to friends, profusely thanking Kammula and their families for the support.
'Life is Beautiful' is directed and produced by Sekhar Kammula, with Vijay C Kumar as the cinematographer, Marthand K Venkatesh as the editor while Mickey J Meyer scored the music. The film is set to release some time in August.