Rapper Roll Rida and director-turned-actor Tharun Bhascker have come together to sing a Telangana-style Telugu rap song titled ‘Mem cinema theesinam’ (‘We made a film’). The song celebrates the spirit of indie filmmaking and is a promotional video for the new independent Telugu film Manishi Brathuku Inthe, directed by Varun Reddy and produced by Keep Rolling Pictures. According to a statement from the team, the film is likely to release soon on an OTT platform.
The song opens with a disclaimer in Hyderabadi Telugu, stating that the makers of this song are not to be held responsible if any aspiring filmmaker takes inspiration from this rap song and risks everything to make movies.
The lyrics trace a typical rough journey independent filmmakers go through when they do not have a film background, no lavish budgets, stars or sets, and yet are driven by the passion for moviemaking. In such film units, the job descriptions blur and an actor might be seen holding lights for a scene where he isn’t in front of the camera, and eventually do odd jobs around the unit. That’s precisely the story of the others on the set too, as they chip in for the common dream of seeing their film on screen.
What happens when a film is made after crossing all hurdles and the anxiety of distribution hurdles builds up? The filmmaker retains his confidence about his/her work and not to be bogged down, is game to make more movies, going through the journey all over again.
The song is written and composed by Vedam Vamsy and Varun Reddy, with additional lyrics by Tharun Bhascker and Roll Rida.