
Director Raghavendra Varma’s favourite movie as a kid was filmmaker Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s Aditya 369, a science fiction film about a time machine. “I always wanted to go on such a quest, but when I grew up I realized that it was not possible,” Varma said. However, his childhood fascination pushed him towards making his own science fiction movie called Bombhaat.
Varma was inspired to explore the theme of a human in relationship with a humanoid after he stumbled upon a video on the internet. “The inspiration for this movie is a humanoid robot called Sophia, which holds UAE citizenship. There is a video in which Will Smith tries to impress Sophia, but Sophia rejects his overtures. I was fascinated by the idea of a humanoid rejecting a human and was inspired to make this film.” he told indianexpress.com.
Raghavendra Varma also noted Bombhaat is basically a romantic comedy with a touch of sci-fi. He believes that the native audience would be turned off completely if he chose to make the film entirely about robotics. “I had to use a familiar plot and emotions to make it relatable,” he said.
“For the majority of the audience, we should tell the story in a way we were told stories like ‘A long time ago there lived a king.’ I think we should spoon-feed such stories. I aimed to make this movie in a way that the audience would believe in what I am saying,” he added.
Raghavendra Varma’s degree in computer graphics and his experience as a film editor helmed him make decisions concerning the special effects in the movie. “We have put in a lot of hard work to achieve up-to-the-mark special effects. For example, there is a scene in which the humanoid repairs its own hand, and it has come out so naturally. I am sure the kids will enjoy it,” he concluded.
Bombhaat stars Sai Sushanth Reddy, Chandini Chowdary and Simran Choudary in the lead roles. It is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on December 3.