Actors, directors bet on talent over box-office success

For all who think that the movie industry is about commerce alone, think again. There are many instances of heroes and directors teaming up again especially when the going is tough for either of the people involved. Looking at recent instances, hotshot Nani made his debut with the Mohan Krishna Indraganti directorial ‘Ashta Chamma’ and didn’t look back eversince.

And even though Indraganti also made a mark for himself, his success relatively has not been on the sames lines. So everyone was surprised when Nani signed ‘Gentleman’ with Indraganti especially since Indraganti had just delivered a thunderous flop `Bandipotu’. “ Actually, I narrated the script to Nani in March, 2015 and he liked it. Since he was busy with other projects, he asked me to wait till December. I, on my part was not trying to take advantage of Nani’s success.

It was purely a professional call,” says Indraganti. Similarly, director Sudheer Varma gave Nikhil the biggest hit of his career with ‘Swamy Ra Ra’. It was the debut film of Sudheer Varma and finally gave Nikhil, the consolidation he was looking for in the industry. But Sudheer’s next film ‘Dochay’ with Naga Chaitanya proved to be a real dampener at the box-office. Caught on the back foot, Sudheer found reassurance in the form of Nikhil who agreed to do ‘Keshava’ with him.

The film is scheduled for a release on May 19 and the pre-release business is excellent since Nikhil is currently having a dream run at the ticket-window. And it’s not just directors and actors alone. Producer Dil Raju has given a second opportunity to director Venu Sri Ram in the form of ‘MCA’. Venu had earlier directed ‘Oh My Friend’ for the producer in 2011 which had a disappointing run. Nevertheless, believing in the abilities of Venu, Dil Raju has once again entrusted him with the new project ‘MCA’ which will feature Nani in the lead.

Describing it as a ‘calculated risk’, leading producer BVSN Prasad says “Such instances do endear themselves to the public. We should appreciate such actors and directors who value talent over success. It’s a pertinent fact that although the actor or director may be going through a tough phase, they have already proved themselves in terms of ability. So, in a sense, these are calculated risks.,”