After Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, it is now the turn of his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao to become the subject of a political biopic.
Madhura Sridhar Reddy, a software engineer-turned-film director has decided to make a biographical film on KCR, as the Telangana chief minister is popularly known. The film, to be produced by Raj Kandukuri under his banner Dharmapada Creations, which released hit Telugu film ‘Pelli Choopulu’.
“Unlike other biopics, the film does not deal with the childhood of KCR and his rise in politics, but it essentially deals with how he led from the front the Telangana movement and galvanised millions of people to wage a peaceful movement that culminated in the formation of Telangana state,” Sridhar told HT.
He, however, clarified that it was not going to be a documentary on KCR and the Telangana movement as such, but would be an out-and-out feature film that mirrors the political scenario in the state between 2001, when KCR floated the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, and 2014, when the Telangana state was formed.
Read | KCR: The man who revived Telangana movement
“There is going to be a lead character in the film playing the role of KCR and then there would be characters of other important leaders who played a crucial role in the formation of Telangana, including Union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj, veteran BJP leader LK Advani, besides those who desperately tried to stall the Telangana formation, including Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and former MP Lagadapati Rajagopal of Pepper Spray fame,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“There is going to be a lead character in the film playing the role of KCR and then there would be characters of other important leaders who played a crucial role in the formation of Telangana, including Union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj, veteran BJP leader LK Advani, besides those who desperately tried to stall the Telangana formation, including Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and former MP Lagadapati Rajagopal of Pepper Spray fame,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Though there might not be song and dance sequences in the film, Sridhar is confident that the script would be so interesting that it would have the audiences glued to their seats in theatres, as was the case with Richard Attenborough’s English-film ‘Gandhi’.
Sridhar, who hails from Warangal, said he was inspired by his father, who took active part in the first phase of the Telangana agitation in 1969.
Read | Separate statehood for Telangana: A struggle of decades
“Having watched the Telangana movement led by KCR from close quarters, I felt that there is no better story than the Telangana movement under the leadership of KCR,” he said.
Sridhar said KCR has all the shades in him — a visionary, a democratic leader with dictatorial approach, an intellectual and a political genius. “But for the four crore people of Telangana, he was a charioteer with a goal who made their dreams come true,” he added.
An alumnus of IIT Madras, Sridhar said he was yet to find the actor who would play the lead role in his film. “At present, I am getting the script ready. I would do some more research on the movement in the coming days. The shooting will commence on June 2, 2017, the Telangana formation day and the film will be released on February 17, 2018 on the eve of KCR’s birthday,” he added.
It may be mentioned that the biopic on Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, titled ‘Chandrodayam (Rise of the Moon)’, is in production. Being directed by writer Pasupuleti Venkata Ramana, the film is set for release in December.
Read | Chandrodayam: Telugu biopic on Chandrababu Naidu to go on floors next month