Telugu cinema very rarely ventures into sports-centric dramas, or biopics. Which is what makes Arjun Chakravarthy, the upcoming film special. The sports drama, based on a true story, is set to hit theatres on August 29. At a recent press meet, the film’s producer Srini Gubbala spoke about why he pursued this story, the challenges of physical transformation for the protagonist and more.
Srini recalls meeting director Vikrant Rudra through a family member, and hearing the story about Nagulaiah, a real-life Kabaddi player whose life inspired Arjun Chakravarthy. He adds, “Nagulaiah is an excellent Kabaddi player in Nalgonda, and is also known as Arjun. This story has been made with 60 percent of events from his life and with 40 percent of fiction.”
Crafting a sports film, the makers took the assignment seriously, and it reflects in their preparations. Srini explains, “We took it as a challenge to make it as an authentic and a benchmark film. The hero underwent six months of training. We also recruited those who had played at the state level and district level to play Kabaddi sportsmen in the film.” Emphasing on how Arjun Chakravarthy holds a unique place in Telugu industry, Srinu states, “There have been a few stories in the backdrop of Kabaddi so far, but no film has been as serious as this one.”
Talking about why they cast a newcomer like Vijaya Ramaraju for such a challenging role, Srini candidly elaborates, “The story of this film has around 4-5 transformations for the protagonist character. A lot of time needs to be allocated for that, and not everyone can allocate that time. All the main characters have physical transformations, many of which took 9 months.”
Arjun Chakravarthy has won multiple awards at international film festivals. When asked about the probably impact of awards on his film’s boxoffice run, Srini says, “My focus is on promotions. I believe in the content, and I am clear about the target audience for this film. We are preparing to release this film in metro audiences in India as well as in the US, UK, Europe, South Africa. I am confident that the film will definitely reach remote villages within three days of its release.”
Arjun Chakravarthy has music direction by Vignesh Baskaran, who worked as sound engineer for Vikram Vedha. The film also stars Sijaa Rose, Harsh Roshan, and Ajay Ghosh, Durgesh in ensemble cast. In the technical team, Jagadeesh Cheekati is the cinematographer and Pradeep Nandan is the editor. Upon it’s release, the sports drama will fight for boxoffice space with other films like Sundarakanda, Kanya Kumari and Tribanadhari Barbarik.
