Brahmotsavam is about those 4 people we need in life: Addala

Director Sreekanth Addala talks about the inspiration behind ‘Brahmotsavam,’ how Mahesh Babu supported him during the shooting, Thota Tharani and switching to new genres

‘Brahmotsavam’, like Sreekanth Addala’s earlier films, has its premise firmly rooted in our culture and traditions. One of the most anticipated films of the year, the Mahesh Babu-starrer will open on an epic note this Friday.

Revealing the factors that led him to pen the script, the director shares, “We are living in times where we doubt whether our dreams will be fulfilled or not. We are always under heaviness... How do you get relief from such circumstances? Only through fellow individuals. There’s no substitute to it.

The presence of these (four) individuals is important and I wanted to tell a point on the same lines. It’s just that I’ve set it in a family atmosphere.”
The auteur is grateful for Mahesh Babu to have accepted the script. “He understood it as a sensitive subject and gave me a second opportunity to direct him,” he points out, adding that the superstar stood by him like a rock during the shooting.

“If there was an instance where I got panicked, his encouragement led me to get back to work with renewed energy. He was my strength. If you conceive an idea and are desperate to tell it to the audience, you will come across hurdles. If you keep thinking about them (hurdles), you will not finish the project.”

Is he referring to the film’s delay? Turns out, he is. “The film boasts of senior artistes and obviously their dates turned out to be an issue, causing the delay.” Sreekanth wanted to shoot a major chunk of the film in Vijayawada to begin with but that didn’t happen. Reflecting on what happened, he avers, “The film is set in Vijayawada and unfolds in a rich household.

Since we couldn’t take our artistes there, we managed to bring in Vijayawada element to the film with the help of CG.” He speaks of how the late Ganesh Patro has written the first three pages of the script. “When I met him for ‘Mukunda’, I also shared ‘Brahmotsavam’ idea. He came with a three-page draft, assuring that he will sit down with me for the full draft once I was done with ‘Mukunda’.

But he passed away in the interim,” he sighs, adding that he took the help of Paruchuri Brothers, Sri Ramana, Kadheer Babu, Kishore and Krishna Chaitanya for the dialogues of the family drama.

Admittedly, art director Thota Tharani’s work blew him away. “It was producer Prasad V Potluri who advised me to rope Tharani garu. I didn’t knew him personally. After the film went to floors a friend of mine said, ‘You are now promoted because your name flashes after Tharani’s in the title credits.’

I didn’t understand it back then but once I started working with him, I’ve realised what a talent he is. His attention to detail is mind-blowing,” he raves. The first look where Mahesh, who is playing a millionaire on a journey to self-discovery, is seen kneeling down to put up a chappal under the heel of his father has caught the fancy of many.

Commenting on it the soft-spoken director observes, “Mahesh has immense respect towards his father in the film and we wanted to define their relationship in a new way. How do you do it? The chappal scene was a brainwave. As Satyaraj forgets his chappals on his way to a function, Mahesh rushes to him and brings them.”

As much as he wants to delve into deeper waters as far as film genres are concerned up next, he is content in the family genre space. “Coming to genres I don’t have any restrictions but I’m happy with the family drama genre. Let’s see what future holds for me,” he ends with a smile.