HYDERABAD : Chaari 111, the upcoming action comedy film, stands apart for a reason. It features seasoned comedian Vennela Kishore as the protagonist, the ‘hero figure’ of the film. Director TG Keerthi Kumar, however, believes that despite being lauded for his comic prowess, Vennela Kishore remains underrated overall as an actor. Keerthi Kumar adds, “If you see films like Oke Oka Jeevitham (2022) and Goodachari (2018), there are many serious sequences which Kishore sir performed very nicely. He is not a brilliant comedian — he is a brilliant actor who is very good at comedy.”
Keerthi clarifies that the casting of Vennela Kishore was crucial to the making of Chaari 111. Keerthi stated, “I am a Vennela Kishore fan, and I had thought about doing a film like Chaari 111 with him for a long time. The script was written with Kishore sir in mind — If he had said no, this project would never have taken off.”
Keerthi believes that leading stars of Telugu cinema have always had heroes with better sense of comedy even when compared to Hollywood stars. He elaborates, “Actors like Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi, their comic timing is amazing. I want to work with those kind of heroes in this universe.”
Compared to Hollywood movies though, action-comedy as a genre has seen a very limited number of films in Indian cinema. Keerthi, however, begs to differ. He gave the examples of filmmaker Srinu Vaitla and older Chiranjeevi movies like Rudranetra (1989) and Chantabbai (1986) that blended action and comedy. The director even points out that he named the spy agency in his story Rudranetra, as an ode to the Chiranjeevi starrer. Keerthi adds, “Even SS Rajamouli sir’s Maryada Ramanna (2010) was sort of an action comedy. Our filmmakers might not have labelled many of these films as action-comedies during promotions, but they were always making action-comedies.”
Keerthi candidly admits to being heavily inspired from movies like the Pink Panther franchise and Johnny English (2003) while crafting his script for Chaari 111. The director notes how casting for movies of this genre becomes particularly crucial, because scripts are designed around actors. Keerthi added, “In our film, Kishore’s character irritates his boss to no end. I wanted a serious-looking actor for the role and that’s why I went with Murali Sharma who is perfect for it — The more serious he gets, the funnier a scene becomes.”
Keerthi, who made his directorial debut with the quirky rom-com Malli Modalaindi (2022), is planning to expand Chaari 111 into a full-blown cinematic universe. He says, “If things work out, we will expand this into a universe. I am planning to bring more heroes. Whatever film I do, it will remain in the spy action comedy universe.” Keerthi also expresses a willingness to explore heroine-driven movies in his universe, while adding, “One just needs to find the correct one-liner for these movies — then maybe things can work out.”
Before entering the film industry, Keerthi worked as an editor for TV commercials and corporate films. He then moved to Bangalore, and joined the ad filmmaking industry, where he edited commercials for nearly 10 years. Keerthi states that his experience in ad film industry taught him the importance of visual detailing that he tries to retain even in his filmmaking process.
The Malli Modalaindi (2022) director explains, “Writing is completely based on the client and his demands. Be it art, lighting or cinematography, we had to be very detailed in our work which comes to use in filmmaking as well.”
The director also spoke about how he used his editing experience while writing Chaari 111, adding, “After I finish the script, I try to trim the film on script level itself, instead of shooting portions which will most likely be removed later. I also send the script to my editor who then gives me his opinion on portions that can be removed.”
The director further spoke about the extensive pre-production process before they began shooting Chaari 111. He elaborates, “It’s the filmmaker’s responsibility nowadays to be very particular about pre-production. Technically, I had a brilliant and experienced team. They took care of most of the execution, so my focus remained on writing.”
Chaari 111, besides having an unusual comic protagonist, differs from a regular mainstream movie in many ways. The film doesn’t have any song sequences in the film. However, Keerthi believes that the blend of stunts, action and comedy will work for the audience. He adds, “We have tried to create a balance between conflicts created by an antagonist alongside comedy.”
While Keerthi candidly admits to the possibility that Chaari 111 might open to low figures on day 1, it’s also the kind of that film that has potential to pick up exponentially with good word-of-mouth. “Word of mouth is powerful. As a director, I am depending on it,” he adds.