‘Sammohanam’ is a coming together of two worlds

Writer-director Mohana Krishna Indraganti was partly amused, partly miffed with some comments to the teaser of his forthcoming film Sammohanam. The very premise — romance between a boy next door and a female actor — made some people wonder if the film is ‘inspired’ by Notting Hill.

As someone who has always credited the short stories, novellas and plays that have triggered a thought process for his previous films, he affirms that whichever films he pays an ode to through Sammohanam, will be duly credited.

Aesthetic references

Indraganti is a voracious reader and an avid tracker of world cinema, and likes to delve into different written and visual works to observe their narratives and aesthetics. “If the aesthetics of Sammohanam, as perceived in the teaser, makes people think of Notting Hill, I take it as a compliment,” he tells us.

Several films have left an impression on him. He explains, “A dinner scene in a regular Telugu film may have women clad in silk saris and jewellery, going around the table and serving food to everyone in the family. I like a more candid approach at a dinner table where there’s cross talk and laughter as the food goes around.” He likes the relatability and candour in films like My Week with Marilyn. He also notes, “The idea of a common person falling in love with a celebrity didn’t begin with Notting Hill; there are several others, including Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi.” He asserts that his film, unfolding largely in Hyderabad and Manali, is a hat tip to those films.

Sammohanam, expected to release mid-June, stars Sudheer Babu as a children’s book illustrator with idealistic notions and Aditi Rao as an actor from a different city, making her mark in Telugu cinema. The idea came in 2011 when Indraganti was shooting a scene for Golconda High School. He doesn’t want to reveal what exactly sparked the idea of Sammohanam as yet, but says he’s been observing the predicaments of female actors he has worked with, “People have certain notions and prejudices about female actors. There’s a difference in how people react to them, as opposed to male actors.” It was coincidental, he says, that the Sri Reddy episode was in the spotlight when the Sammohanam teaser was unveiled.

In this film, Sudheer Babu’s character doesn’t have a great opinion about the film industry. What happens when he crosses path with a female actor and romance blossoms? The conflicts between the two characters is the crux of the story.

Indraganti avers that Sudheer Babu wasn’t his first choice, “I perceived him as this heavy built guy (remember Baaghi?) and felt he wouldn’t fit my film.” Then, he happened to watch Shamantakamani and a particular scene made him look at the actor in a new light. “In addition, I noticed how his voice has a tenderness.”

Strength and vulnerability

For the female protagonist, Indraganti wanted someone who had the aura of being unattainable, and looked like a Hindi-speaking young woman who works in Telugu films, “I didn’t want someone well established in Telugu cinema, because the audience would then look at the personality than the character.” Around that time Kaatru Veliyidai had released, and Aditi won appreciation for her mix of strength, sensitivity and vulnerability, all of which the director felt would be perfect for his story. The bonus was getting Aditi to dub in Telugu, to make the character more authentic.

Besides these two characters, Indraganti discloses that actor Naresh plays a significant part that will provide an alternative viewpoint of the film industry. “This is one of my most favourite characters and I feel Naresh has delivered his best performance till date,” says Indraganti.

His previous film was the screwball comedy Ami Thumi, coming after the Nani-starrer Gentleman. He had wanted to make Sammohanam earlier, but it took time to fall in place. Ami Thumi, written a few years ago, was a quick film to make. “It felt like a story which a few friends would share, amid laughter, over a chai session,” he reflects.

Indraganti’s films have explored diverse genres and he likes these shifts. A few core crew members have remained constant, like cinematographer PG Vinda, editor Marthand Venkatesh and art director Ravinder. This will be his seventh film with Vinda and the director avers, “We share a good rapport because we have similar sensibilities.”

The significant change is the presence of composer Vivek Sagar. “I enjoyed working with Mani Sharma and Kalyan Koduri, who I feel is a fine melody maker. But it’s been refreshing to work with Vivek who has been quick to echo the sound I was looking for this story. Occasionally it’s good to break the pattern and create something new,” he signs off.