NELLORE: They are neither experts in filmmaking nor undertook training in any film institute. Yet their videos have been garnering appreciation on social media. Some of their videos have also drawn the attention of Telugu film directors. The children, who acted in the videos, are all below 17 years and want to make it big in the film industry some day. They utilised their free time effectively as schools remained shut during Covid-induced lockdown.
Meenamgari Kiran, who dropped out of school after class 9, has started doing menial jobs in local firms in Nellore. Kiran’s mother is a fish vendor. Kiran was interested in filmmaking ever since he was 14. He had also done some short films.
“I was born and brought up in a poor family. After the death of my father, my mother is running the family. I had joined an acting institute in Hyderabad and left within a month due to financial crisis. I wanted to prove my talent, but, I don’t have enough money to pursue my passion,” said Kiran.
Not the one to give up hope, Kiran residing in Bhagat Singh Colony of Nellore, along with some students, decided to recreate a fight scene from Sarileru Neekevaru as a birthday gift to actor Mahesh Babu. At the time of shooting the fight scene, the team did not have high-resolution cameras and technical support. All they had were smartphones.
“I had contacted 20 teenagers for recreating a fight scene from Sarileru Neekevaru. Initially, no one had showed interest. Then, I contacted Munna, who convinced his friends to act in the fight scene. We shot the scene for two days in a garden adjacent to my house. Later, we gave the video to Laaiq for editing,” said Kiran.
“I started receiving appreciation after the video went viral on social media. Now, many are coming forward to fund my short films,” he added. Stating that the video has so far clocked 3 million views on YouTube, Kiran expressed his desire to work as an assistant director for Anil Ravipudi some day. Kiran had also recreated fight scenes from films such as Katamarayudu, Sarkar, Mahanabhavudu and others.
Kiran says he plans fight sequences while sitting on the terrace of his house. “I have many stories in my mind and want to work on them once I get a chance in the film industry. Currently, I make videos on Sunday, while on other days, I go for work,” he adds.
Munna, who played the role of Mahesh Babu in the fight scene composed by Kiran, is studying class 9 in a government school in Nellore. “My friends laughed at me for trying to recreate the popular fight scene. After the video got million views, my friends have started appreciating my talent,” said Munna. Rabbani, who acted in the fight scene, said, “Kiran explains the scene in a crystal clear manner and asks us to practice dialogues. We received recognition after the video went viral on social media. We are more than happy to be a part of the videos made by Kiran.”
Their YouTube channel has 91.4K subscribers
Kiran started a YouTube channel LK Events on October 2018 which has 91.4K subscribers. Students including Fareed, Shareef, Shajid, Arif, Jalee, Tofiq, Umar, Ashok, Srinivasulu, Pavan, Rabbani and Ayukbasha acted in the fight scene shot by Kiran