‘Mahesh Babu, Raveena Tandon don't get involved at all’: Ajay Bhupathi on launching Jaya Krishna, Rasha Thadani

Mahesh Babu's nephew, Jaya Krishna, and Raveena Tandon's daughter, Rasha Thadani, will be launched in the Telugu film Srinivasa Mangapuram by Ajay Bhupathi.

Director Ajay Bhupathi of RX 100, Maha Samudram and Mangalavaram fame is all set to launch late superstar Krishna’s grandson and Mahesh Babu’s nephew, Jaya Krishna Ghattamaneni, in Tollywood. In the same film, he’s launching Raveena Tandon’s daughter, Rasha Thadani, in Telugu. The director speaks with Hindustan Times while filming with them in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, for the film titled Srinivasa Mangapuram. (Also Read: Manjula Ghattamaneni talks about daughter Jaanvi Swarup's Tollywood debut: ‘Doors open because of my dad, Krishna’)

Rasha Thadani and Jaya Krishna will star together in Ajay Bhupathi's Srinivasa Mangapuram.

“It’s not your usual love story,” he says, settling down for a chat. When asked to explain further, Ajay looks for words that best describe his film, which is sure to be as polarising as his previous work, without revealing too much. “This is a love story, but it is going to be very rugged. It’s emotional and has an innocence to it. It’s going to be a story in my style. I always hoped to find good actors who are newbies to play these characters, and I’m lucky to have found them in Jaya and Rasha,” he adds.

Ajay Bhupathi was asked to direct Jaya Krishna’s debut film

It’s not Ajay who approached Jaya Krishna for the role, though, because the director says he was the one who was asked to launch him in Tollywood. “I was asked if I would introduce him and direct his debut film. And given Krishna garu’s legacy, I feel honoured. When I saw him, I just knew he would be perfect,” he says.

Talking about Rasha, he adds that she was selected much before Uyi Amma became famous. “Rasha was supposed to star in Telugu much before this, but it didn’t pan out. Perhaps it was for the better, as she’s well-suited for this role. We selected her before her debut film, Azaad, was released, and her song became famous,” he says.

Mahesh Babu and Raveena Tandon not involved, says Ajay

In fact, given that Ajay is already shooting with them, he can’t seem to contain his excitement about how good they look together on-screen. “I did not prep them much before going on set because everything was finalised last minute. Plus, I also wanted to bring out the best in them directly on set. At most, we worked for two weeks before going on the floors,” says the director.

Ajay also acknowledges that both Jaya and Rasha have legacies to live up to, but clarifies that neither Mahesh nor Raveena has been involved in the filmmaking process. “Zero, nobody has gotten involved, and they trust me implicitly. In fact, Jaya’s family doesn’t even know the story. But I’ve been told they all feel happy their children are getting launched with me,” he says.

Ajay will head to Ballari, Karnataka, for the next schedule with his debutants, he says. As for GV Prakash’s music for the film, the tunes were finalised even before they began the shoot. “Nobody can make films like I do, just like I can’t make films like others do. Music has always been important to my films, and I’m sure these songs will resonate with people, too. I look forward to the audience watching this film in 2026,” he rounds off.