Promotions for Ghaati took an entertaining turn on Thursday when Allu Arjun had a candid phone conversation with Anushka Shetty. The phone call, arranged as part of the campaign, quickly moved from mutual admiration to playful banter about crossovers and pan-India stardom.
During the interaction Allu Arjun threw in a surprise question, “Did you talk about a crossover between Ghaati’s Sheelavathi and Pushpa?”A startled Anushka laughed, saying, “I was asked that in an interview and thought, oh my god, that would be a raw universe.”
Not letting her off easy, Allu further asked, “If Pushpa and Sheelavathi have a crossover, who should direct the film, Sukumar or Krish? You have to pick one.”
Anushka played along, musing on the superhero-style multiverse idea, “I thought that would be interesting. But I feel I still have to break through to pan-India for that to happen. You are everywhere now.”
Allu Arjun was quick to correct her: “What are you saying, you are the first person who broke into pan-India with Baahubali. You are more than enough.”
The exchange ended on a lighter note with Anushka reciting her fiery dialogue from Ghaati: “Vaallu oorukoru, veellu orukoru antey, nenu oorukonu.” To which Allu Arjun stylishly responded with his trademark “Thaggede Le.”
Directed by Krish Jagarlamudi, Ghaati places Anushka’s Sheelavathi in the tribal heartlands of Andhra Pradesh, where a bus conductor is pushed into the world of organised crime after her community is trapped in a drug mafia. The film also stars Vikram Prabhu, Jagapathi Babu, Chaitanya Rao and Ravindra Vijay.
Backed by UV Creations and First Frame Entertainments, Ghaati’s technical crew includes dialogue writer Sai Madhav Burra, cinematographer Manojh Reddy Katasani and art director Thota Tharani.
After lighter roles in Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty, Ghaati marks Anushka’s return to darker, action-heavy terrain. The film is set to release on 5 September, clashing with Mouli’s Little Hearts.
