Promising young hero Aadi Saikumar is coming up with a unique action thriller Top Gear directed by K.Shashikanth. Aditya Movies & Entertainments is presenting the film, while K. V. Sridhar Reddy is producing it under the banner of Sri Dhanalakshmi Productions. Giridhar Mamidipalli is the executive producer. Sai Sriram, who worked as a cinematographer for several superhit films, is working on the film, while Harshavardhan Rameshwar who right now is one of the busiest composers scored music for Top Gear. A few days ahead of the release, Aadi interacted with the media.
How the movie is going to be?
Top Gear is a racy thriller. Director Shashikanth narrated two different stories. The other story is a political thriller. I felt the story of Top Gear is right for me. It’s about a cab driver who gets into trouble. What if the small problem becomes a big one. This is the story that happens in one day.
What’s the story behind the title Top Gear?
We didn’t lock the title, before starting the shoot. We felt it was an apt title when Top Gear was proposed. The protagonist needs to switch to Top Gear when situations demand him to do so. We also felt the title sounded stylish.
What are the standout qualities you found in the director?
Shashikanth has good clarity on everything. Though our DOP Sai Sreeram is very experienced, Sashi designed every shot and Sai Sreeram also liked his work style. He’s very confident from day one. Editor Prawin Pudi also liked the final outcome.
You mostly did thrillers? What motivated you to do Top Gear?
I didn’t mean to do only thrillers. Every second script I’m getting is a thriller. It’s difficult to say no to thrillers. However, Top Gear is not completely a thriller.
Will you do mass movies again?
The definition of mass has been changed, after KGF. People are not keen to watch regular mass entertainers. The story or the narration needs to be different. We are habituated to English favored movies. I heard a powerful script and it’s not a regular one.
What do you say about the action part?
Prithvi is a good fight master. He got a big break with Romantic. He follows the story and choreographs fights. The action part is very natural in the movie. There is a struggle in the fights as well. He took the best care while canning risky stunts.
How crucial car’s role in the movie?
Art director Ramanjaneyulu wanted the car to be good and special. He designed the car perfectly, as per the need of the story.
How important is the music for the film?
Of course, music is very important, especially the BGM. Harshavardhan Rameshwar is busy with Animal, Ravanasura and other films. He’s also very confident about the outcome. The movie has only one song.
Do you want to come out of commercial format and try different concepts?
Yes, of course. Though I do commercial movies here and there, I’m keen on doing different movies. Top Gear is also a content-based movie. I’m also doing a web series for Zee5, and my character as well as the set-up will surprise you for sure. It’s an experimental project. Many are approaching me with commercial subjects. But I’m keen on doing more realistic films that have commercial viability.
Did you get negative roles?
I got, but I didn’t want to do it now. To be frank, I’m getting good offers now. I don’t want to take a wrong step now. But if I get something extraordinary, for sure, I’ll do negative roles as well.
What are the highlights of the movie?
I think for sure the movie will be completely engaging. Everybody performed well. Mime Gopi played the main villain exceptionally. He is the main pillar. Shatru, Brahmaji, Satyam Rajesh were too good. Technically too, it’s a good movie. Cinematography and music are other big assets. What are your next projects?
I signed a movie for Lucky Media. It’s a good story with a new director. I’m also in talks for other projects. The shoot of the web series Puli Meka is already done. Kona Venkat is the producer. Chakravarthy who did Pantham with Gopichand is the director. It has good casting with Lavanya Tripathi, Suman, Avinash etc playing important roles. It’s no less than a cinema. It will have 8 episodes. I’m confident about that as well.
Do you have any issues with heroine Riya Suman?
No, not at all. It’s nice working with her. We didn’t have many scenes together. She’s busy in Tamil now. Riya is doing a movie in Nayanthara’s banner.
Are you planning to release the movie in other languages?
No for now. It will however be dubbed in Hindi. I feel due to the success of action movies like Garam in Hindi, there is good demand for Hindi rights of my movies. Lovely also worked well in Hindi. We told about Kashmir Hindi Pundits in Operation Gold Fish, much before The Kashmir Files was made. I was shocked to see the views count and comments for the movie.
What do you say about the theatrical business and OTT market?
My movies are doing good on OTT. Due to unfavorable conditions, the theatrical business is not impressive. My previous movie Sashi also got good openings, but it didn’t fare well at the box office, though it performed well on OTT. My last movie Crazy Fellow also got good reception on OTT. We released it on 13th and Kantara came on 14th. There was a huge buzz for Kantara, two weeks before the release. I didn’t know whether it was a wrong release or some other reason for the film’s debacle at the box office.
Do you plan to remake your dad’s movies?
No. But we want to remix- dad’s song ‘Asalem Gurthukuradu’ from ‘Anthapuram’.
Do you take family support, before finalizing scripts?
Definitely. I decided to start films, only after the script is locked.
