Sridevi Movies, undoubtedly, is one of those production houses that has bankrolled movies that fetched respect for the Telugu film industry. Popular producer Sivalenka Krishna Prasad has given the audience trend-setting films like ‘Aditya 369’, which was led by Nata Simham Nandamuri Balakrishna. He has also produced ‘Vamsanikokkadu’, ‘Gentleman’ with Natural Star Nani, ‘Sammohanam’ with Sudheer Babu, and ‘Yashoda’ with Samantha. It has been 36 years since he founded Sridevi Movies.
‘Chinnodu – Peddodu’ is Krishna Prasad’s debut movie as a producer. The entertainer was fronted by Chandra Mohan and Rajendra Prasad. Released in theatres on April 1, 1988, the film heralded the arrival of Sridevi Movies and Sivalenka Krishna Prasad’s illustrious journey as a producer.
Krishna Prasad believes in quality more than quantity and he has abided by this standard for nearly four decades. Rich content-based films have been made by his banner.
Earlier content-rich Tamil movies used to be dubbed and released in Telugu. ‘Chinnodu – Peddodu’ is a remake of the Tamil hit ‘Chinna Thambi – Periya Thambi’ starring Sathyaraj, Prabhu and Nadiya. Sivalenka Krishna Prasad bought the remake rights for an amount of Rs 70,000. Sridevi Movies started recording songs on October 2, 1987, on Gandhi Jayanti, after the company was formally established. ‘Gaana Gandharva’ SP Balasubrahmanyam composed the music for the film. Jandhyala wrote the dialogue, while Veturi and Vennelakanti penned the songs. Under the direction of Relangi Narasimha Rao and under the aegis of his friend MV Rao, Sivalenka Krishna Prasad made the film produced by Mrs. Anita Krishna. It was successfully screened in 12 centers for 100 days. From then to date, the journey of Sridevi Movies has been successful.
Sivalenka Krishna Prasad, on the occasion of Sridevi Movies turning a year older, said, “A mention of our banner brings to the audiences’ minds ‘Aditya 369’, which remains a classic in the career of Balayya Babu. My journey as a producer started with the movie ‘Chinnodu – Peddodu’. No matter how far you may have grown in life, the first step should never be forgotten. My first step as a producer was the best step! I am forever indebted to SP Balasubrahmanyam uncle and Chandra Mohan mavayya who supported my journey. I have seen many successes, ups and downs in my journey as a producer. No matter what I saw, I continued forward with the inspiration given by my first film.”
Filming of ‘Chinnodu – Peddodu’ took off on January 7, 1988, in a house owned by Raju garu in Vedureswaram village, two kilometers from Ravulapalem. The film was shot in 27 days on a budget of Rs 21 lakh. It collected more than Rs 40 lakh and brought profits to the producer as well as distributors.
Sivalenka Krishna Prasad recently started a new movie under his banner with Priyadarshi in the lead. After the success of Nani’s ‘Gentleman’ and ‘Sammohanam’, this is his hat-trick film with director Mohanakrishna Indraganti. It is currently in the filming stage.
