'DJ Tillu' is an old wine in a new bottle: Siddhu Jonnalagadda

Actor-writer Siddhu Jonnalagadda used the lockdown to his advantage in fine tuning the script of "DJ Tillu." Siddhu has co-written the screenplay with director Vimal Krishna and penned the dialogues. The film is a blend of wackiness, drama, and loads of laughter. Though it was not an easy task to shine in both acting and writing departments, Siddhu blazed his way through the process. The trailer has got a lot of buzz and everyone's eagerly waiting to watch the film on the big screen.

Is 'DJ Tillu' inspired from your life and experiences?

'DJ Tillu' is a love story with a dash of crime and loads of comedy. The story unfolds from Tillu's perspective. I witnessed many weird charac ters since childhood and explored for a canvas to fit them. Finally, they found their way into 'DJ Tillu.'

How living in Malkajgiri, Secunderabad influenced you in writing for the film?

I spent most of my life in and around Malkajgiri and many characters are born out of my experiences. They are extreme and eccentric and claim to walk an extra mile for friendship. They drink a single tea in an Irani café but talk about building the planet. One wants to be a youth leader, one dabbles with real estate, one is a mentor to others, and the list is endless. They are sweet and genuine, but they carry a bag of craziness with them.

Tell us about the usage of Hyderabad slang in DJ Tillu

There is a proper Telangana flavour in the film. When the character gets into an extreme zone, he even speaks Warangal slang. I had friends who speak a different slang and that got into me. Also, I studied in a central school and that brushed my Hindi and English. When I write, I ensure to use the language and slangs to right effect to generate fun.

What made you to penthe dialogues for the film?

Everything happened spontaneously. During the first lockdown, things were messy. Vimal and I indulged in cooking, cleaning, and lot of things along with writing the script. In our discussions, we found something substantial that went into the story.

What made you to change the title from "Narudi Bratuku Natana" to "DJ Tillu?"

On the title front, everyone who used to check on me for the film's progress asked me about Tillu. Then we thought Tillu had a better recall value so named it 'DJ Tillu.' The change happened just before the teaser was out.

Tell about the experience on narrating the story to producers

We pitched the story to producer Naga Vamsi. Ours is a comedy film and his reaction was minimal. We initially thought it was not good. But he liked it and later we narrated it to Chinnababu Sir. There were inputs from Trivikram and producers, and we made changes wherever needed. Trivikram even labelled the film a hit after watching the final copy. There was a lot of freedom for us in terms of making the film.

Did you expect such a buzz for the trailer?

I was very confident that the trailer will work. The credit for the song goes to Ram Miriyala. I gave a description of Tillu and he chiselled it to perfection.

If not movies, what would you have been?

May be, I would have become a lawyer.

Are you planning to write or co-write for your next films?

Acting is my forte. Many things happened by chance, so is writing. I am more of an actor and can slip into the shoes of a writer when needed. I am a not a writer by profession, but by desperation. I am not part of the writing team for my next films with Sitara and SVCC.

Vimal is your friend. Has the helped in writing for DJ Tillu?

I vibe well with Vimal. We had some problems while approaching the script and shoot but thanks to the wonderful producers, we got all of them sorted. On the location, Vimal and I had a gala time conceiving the scenes. We did the whole shoot in a relaxed way.

Tell us how singing happened?

I sang the song during the time of "Guntur Talkies." But unfortunately, couldn't use it there. We tried to place it in "Kshanam," "Krishna and his Leela," "Maa Vintha Gaadha Vinuma," but finally it happened in "DJ Tillu."

Siddhu the actor and Siddhu the writer, who dominates whom?

There is no competition as I equally enjoyed both. That being said, DJ Tillu was a tough film to write. There were many on spot improvisations. Tillu has to speak always and visualising and writing a character that has so much of brimming energy was difficult at times.

Tell us about your family background?

My mother worked for All India Radio, and I used to go with her for recordings. That generated interest in music. My father worked for BSNL and my brother lives in the US. I got an IT job after my engineering but didn't take it as my interest was in cinema. We are a middle-class family with our set of struggles, and you can see some of it around DJ Tillu as well.

Tell us one word about "DJ Tillu?"

"DJ Tillu" is a well-packaged product. You can call it an old wine in a new bottle.