Thandel: Makers release first-look of Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi's patriotic drama

The video gives a glimpse of the film’s story, apart from setting up the lead characters in the film. Naga Chaitanya picks up a Srikakulam dialect

The makers of Chandoo Mondeti’s Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi-starrer Thandel released the first glimpse of the film on Saturday. Titled Essence of Thandel, the over two-minute-long video provides a glimpse into the film’s story apart from setting up the characters. (Also Read: Naga Chaitanya says he does not regret working on Aamir Khan's Laal Singh Chaddha)

Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi in Thandel

The first look

The glimpse opens by introducing Chaitanya’s character, Thandel Raju, who is in the middle of the ocean fishing. It also shows how he runs into trouble when he and a few other fishermen accidentally venture into the waters of Pakistan. This leads to their imprisonment in the central jail of Karachi after being caught by the Pakistan Coastal Guard. Chaitanya gets the opportunity to mouth some massy dialogues in a different dialect in the video. The glimpse also introduces Sai as his love, Bujji Thalli, apart from hinting that the film will be a patriotic one.

The makeover

Naga has played urban, boy-next-door roles throughout his career. He underwent a makeover for the film, sporting longer hair and beard, apart from wearing rustic clothes. The slang he pulls off for Thandel is supposed to be Srikakulam. He prepped for the role during pre-production, not just physically transforming himself but also working with a dialect coach. Sai is only seen for a small portion of the video, and it’s yet to be seen if she also speaks in a similar accent. The pair previously worked together in Sekhar Kammula’s Love Story.

Delay in release of first-look

The Essence of Thandel was supposed to be released on Friday, but fans were disappointed when the makers postponed the release to today. The video was supposed to drop at 5 pm on Friday, but the makers later announced it would be released at 7 pm. Fans were frustrated when the first glimpse failed to drop even then, with the makers later announcing that the release has been postponed by a day. Fans finally seem happy now that they’ve gotten a glimpse of the film.

Shoot in progress

Thandel is presented by Allu Aravind’s Geetha Arts and produced by Bunny Vasu. Devi Sri Prasad is composing the film’s tunes while Shamdat is the cinematographer. Shooting for the film is currently in progress in Karnataka.

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