‘Mistakes do happen on a rebound’
Hyderabad: It took director Aparna Malladi six years to bring the script of ‘Pellikuturu Party’ to life. Similar to how her previous projects The Anushree Experiments, Posh Poris panned out, her latest Telugu chick flick also went through a lot of gestation before it finally came on-screen. “It depends on how much you push for […]
Hyderabad: It took director Aparna Malladi six years to bring the script of ‘Pellikuturu Party’ to life. Similar to how her previous projects The Anushree Experiments, Posh Poris panned out, her latest Telugu chick flick also went through a lot of gestation before it finally came on-screen.
“It depends on how much you push for a movie script. Sometimes, I tend to write the script as a whole and might do minor tweaking. Sometimes, I return to a draft after many years and may rewrite the whole thing. As a writer, you tend to know when the script is ready to be made into a film,” reflects Aparna, who is happy with the response the film has been getting in theatres.
The mid-size budget film has already got offers from two well-known OTT platforms for streaming rights. “When we were making the film, the lockdown hit. There used to be times when I used to wonder whether the movie schedule could be completed. I am really thankful to the actors who gave me their dates even though they had other projects in production,” adds Aparna.
Marketed as a Telugu chick flick, the film is about a girl who kisses her sister’s bridegroom and then proceeds on a bachelorette trip chaperoned by their reluctant grandmother. “I’m yet to see a full-blown chick flick in Telugu. When I set out to write Pellikuturu Party, I knew it was going to be wacky, but also relatable. It is about a bunch of 20-year-olds going through the experiences of life and a lot of that is pretty real. The conversations they have are what I have taken away from conversations I had with girls I know who are in their 20s. They tell me about their relationships, breakups, family pressures, dating issues… a lot of that found its way into the script,” shares Aparna.
But the concept is definitely unusual. Aparna is of the opinion that such situations do arise. “The bachelorette trip is the girl’s way of making up to her elder sister for kissing her fiancé and she hopes that her sister will fall in love with some other guy. It’s her way of lessening her guilt. Of course, the trip ends up becoming a lifetime experience for all of them. I am not breaking any rules here; it is possible for a girl to do such a thing on the rebound. The grandmother played by Annapurna garu — a character who is young at heart and embodies all the traits we see in the four grandchildren,” explains Aparna.
Although most of her cast is one or two films old, comedy came very naturally to all of them. “Comedy as a genre is pretty hard to pull off. If the writing is weak, it’s going to show on-screen. The vibe on our set was fun despite the pandemic; we were all in a sort of bio-bubble and still managed to keep the environment lighthearted. So I think that showed on film,” feels Aparna.
Pellikuturu Party, produced by Pruthvi Creations, boasts an ensemble cast comprising Prince Cecil, Aneesha Dama, Annapurna, Bhavana Vazhapandal, Sai Ketan Rao, Jaiyetri Makana and Kirrak Seetha. The film is currently playing in theatres.
