'Kalavaramaye Madilo is entertaining'

Satish Kasetty's first Telugu film Hope fetched him a National Award. The film dealt with the issue of students committing suicide, as they were unable to cope with the education system.

Satish's second Telugu film, Kalavaramaye Madilo is a love story close to life. Radhika Rajamani spoke to Satish about Kalavaramaye Madilo, which is releasing on July 17.

You have mentioned that the seed for the film Kalavaramaye Madilo was sown through various incidents -- a discussion about Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby, a reality music show on television, the urge to learn music, and so on.

The idea to make a film on music came from Vishwanath garu. I am his Eklavya shishya. He's my inspiration. Reality shows get you so many singers, some of whom may lack technical finesse but they become big singers. One needs to go through a guru to learn and fine tune. This film is about a girl's quest to learn and win a competition. Her ambition is to sing for A R Rahman and wants to audition for him.

There is also a parallel love story and family drama to add the meat. It's a real life story, dramatised. Everyone in the audience will identify with the story. It is close to life and drawn from people and experiences around me.

Kalavaramaye Madilo is a heroine-centric film. Why did you want to make such a film?

No hero would come to me because they would want their story to be told in their own way. My story suits the female protagonist rather than the male. There is a relationship between mother and daughter too in the film.

Does the film bear any semblance to Bergman's Autumn Sonata as that also revolves around music and the mother-daughter relationship?

Kalavaramaye Madilo has no relation with any film. Maybe a shadow of Shankarabharanam or Sagara Sangamam (both K. Vishwanth's films) can be seen.

Music director Sharrath Vasudevan is a newcomer to Telugu films. Why did you choose him?

It's just economics which made us go to him. His name was suggested by the producer. He was an inspiration to do the film. He is a judge in a musical reality show on Asianet which I watched and which triggered the idea for the film. Moreover, Vasudevan's family has 150 years of music in them. He is the first shishya of Balamurali Krishna.

What is it that you saw in Swati? How has she performed?

When you are looking at a lead actor, you are looking at saleability and ability. I wanted a Telugu girl. Swati was my choice. People said she is bubbly and can do only comedy roles. They had doubts about the second part of the film -- the serious part.

Out of 79 scenes in the film, 73 are Swati's. She had to form her character and literally had to get in to feel the character and understand the meaning of the words. Being a Telugu girl helped her perform. She will prove a lot of people wrong. Swati is capable of many things; she is beautiful and mature.

After Soundarya, it's Swati in Telugu cinema. Swati can do varied roles. People will be spellbound with her performance in Kalavaramaye Madilo.

On what grounds did you choose the hero Kamal Kamaraju?

After I saw Avakkai Biryani, I chose him as the hero. Since the character is from London, I felt he would fit into the role in terms of looks and body language.

There are two stalwarts in the film -- Tanikella Bharani and Vikram Gokhale. What made you choose Vikram Gokhale?

I wrote the script with Bharani and Naseer in mind. Naseer had date problems, and then I was looking for someone to play that role. I wanted a performer of good calibre with no image. A friend suggested Vikram Gokhale. I spoke to him and narrated the story. He liked it and signed the film.

You made a meaningful issue-based first film Hope which won an award. Is Kalavaramaye Madilo in that genre or is it an entertaining love story?

At the end of the day, cinema has to make money. I'll make issue-based films once in a while. I would call Kalavaramaye Madilo an entertaining film. It's not a comedy, but a film which will keep the audience engaged for two hours and make them go through the roller coaster ride of emotions.

The music is melodious. Chitra has sung most of the songs.

Yes. My first choices were Chitra and Sunitha because their voice cultures are similar. Sharrath got Chitra to sing. I have received plenty of compliments regarding the music.

Have you thought about your future projects?

My next project is an action thriller; a commercial thriller. It will have no emotions as I've drained my emotions in Kalavaramaye Madilo. I am almost through with the scripting. I am waiting for the release of Kalavaramaye Madilo.