Senior producer 'Sravanthi' Ravikishore awaits the release of the Tamil-language movie 'Kida' in Telugu as 'Deepavali'. Directed by RA Venkat, the acclaimed drama has previously been screened at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. The film was screened in the Indian Panorama section. M Jayaprakash, Chukkapalli Venu, Theeson, and Anand Geraldin have worked on this content-driven outing. Pu Ramu, Kali Venkat and others played important roles.
To be released in theatres on November 11, 'Deepavali' comes with rare sensibilities. In this interview, listen to Ravikishore talk about why he chose to make it.
Whether or not they were successful on the commercial front, all the movies that I have done gave me satisfaction. I step up to produce a movie only after carefully considering all aspects. I don't do films for the sake of it. Before monetary considerations, what occupies my mind is the question of whether the subject can engage the audience. Quality takes precedence over quantity for me. Sometimes, it takes time for a project to come to fruition.
While success and failure are not in my hands, as far as I remember, I have never executed a project unless I was satisfied with the script. Unlike a distributor or a corporate house producing movies, an individual producer like me makes movies out of passion.
It was a great moment when 'Deepavali' was selected for an Indian Panorama screening. The screening received a standing ovation at the Goa Film Festival. After a recent screening for the media recently, the reception was marvellous. Dil Raju also praised it. I made this movie not with commercial considerations in mind. If this one works at theatres, I will be prodded to make more movies of this sort.
This film is a beautiful experience. I didn't want to remake it in Telugu to retain the authenticity. The story takes place in the backdrop of the Diwali festival. The story has been meted out full justice in every possible way. The cultural aesthetics of the Chittoor-Tamil Nadu area can be expected.
Emotions are the core of this movie. An orphan kid and the emotions around his little pleasures are what will touch the audience's heart. Director RA Venkat started out as an office boy. If the story is good, who wrote it doesn't matter. With dramas like this one, what matters is how heart-touching the scenes are. In the post-pandemic era, our audience have started lapping up non-Telugu content with more vigour. Telugu-dubbed Tamil and Kannada movies have broken the mould. There are no language barriers. We have plans to release 'Deepavali' on OTT in multiple languages.
Attempts have been on to bring a film with Ram Pothineni and Trivikram Srinivas to fruition. As you know, Trivikram has had a number of commitments. Once something exciting comes up, we will join hands. Besides, I have been wanting to produce a film with Ram as the hero with some other filmmaker. But nothing has excited me so far. I have rejected a number of scripts in the process of shortlisting the best for Ram.
