Debutant director Vijay Adireddy is entering Tollywood with Ramani Kalyanam, a romantic drama featuring Surya Vashishta and Deepshika Chandran in the lead roles. While Deepshika plays a visually impaired girl, Surya portrays a physically challenged man who uses a wheelchair. Despite the sensitive premise, the team insists that the film is not preachy, but a complete entertainer with emotional depth.
Speaking about the film, Vijay Adireddy, who studied filmmaking in the US while working there, reveals that the idea came from his life experiences there. “I often interacted with differently-abled people, and those conversations deeply impacted me. When I walked through the streets, I met many disabled people who shared their stories with me. Most of them told me they did not want sympathy for their disability. Their stories were inspiring, and that is when I decided to write something around those emotions,” he explains.
Vijay says he wanted to present a story that feels rooted in reality, and filmmaker Ram Jagadeesh effectively localised his English script. “There is so much emotion in real-life stories. I thought, why not tell such stories in the cinema in a fresh and relatable way? I first wrote the entire script in English and later received help from Ram Jagadeesh, who directed Court, and writer Yuvaraj to adapt it into Telugu. Their contributions helped the film shape better,” he shares.
The director admits that casting was one of the biggest challenges due to the sensitivity attached to the characters. “The female lead is visually challenged and the male lead is mobility-challenged. These are sensitive characters. Even a minor performance mistake could make the audience reject the film and deride the characters. We needed actors who could portray these roles with honesty and conviction,” he says, adding that Surya Vashishta and Deepshika Chandran felt an instant connection with the script.
Surya says he was attracted to the honesty in the storytelling. “After listening to Vijay’s complete narration, I found the emotional core completely believable,” he says, as Deepshika takes over from him to add that the challenge the role offered her drew her in. “Playing a visually impaired girl is definitely challenging, and I immediately felt excited when the role came to me,” she states.
Recounting the challenges in their respective characters, Deepshika feels coming out of her usual visual instincts was a task, and Surya says that he used a wheelchair even off-screen for some time to familiarise himself with the idea of not being able to walk. Deepshika says, “I tried to blur my focus and avoid reacting visually to things around me. More than anything, I observed how visually impaired people communicate and carry themselves,” she explains, as Surya recalls taking his character home. “My character’s legs are paralysed, so I had to remember not to move them naturally. Even when shifting my legs, I had to physically lift them with my hands. I used the wheelchair throughout the shoot and sometimes even took it home to practise for a more realistic approach,” he shares.
Vijay, saying that the story simply explores the lives of two people who unexpectedly meet under unusual circumstances, stresses that he did not make the film to evoke sympathy. “There is no preachiness in the film. It is about how two people meet, the situations they go through, and how their relationship develops naturally in an entertaining way,” the director explains.
In the film, Deepshika’s character works as an RJ at an FM station. “She is also a singer and does small jobs to support herself,” the actress revealed. She added that she was impressed after reading the full script. “I really liked the way the story was written,” Deepshika adds.
Surya clarified that the film does not follow the typical “love at first sight” formula. “Their relationship develops gradually through conflict, friendship, and emotional understanding before it leads to love and marriage. Everything is narrated in a very beautiful and natural manner,” he says.
Although Surya previously appeared in projects such as Butta Bomma and the web series Devika & Danny, he chose Ramani Kalyanam for its emotional integrity. “I connected deeply with this story. The film asks a simple question — don’t differently-abled people deserve love and happiness too? The way those emotions were presented without becoming preachy is what attracted me,” he said.
The film has already received encouraging feedback from senior actor Jayasudha, who recently watched it. “She appreciated the film and also gave us a few valuable suggestions and changes, which helped improve it further,” Vijay shares his gratitude to the veteran actor.
Talking about future projects, Surya reveals that he is currently busy with a few upcoming films, while Deepshika waits for the official announcements for the projects she has signed. Vijay Adireddy, too, says he already has a few more stories ready for his next ventures after Ramani Kalyanam.