Madhura Sreedhar: "I am not being missed"

Madhura Sreedhar Reddy, the producer of ‘Oka Manasu’, says that the film is generating fantastic collections. In this interview, he talks about why the first half was trimmed by 14 minutes, the feedback to Niharika’s performance, why he is not directing of late, and more.  

How has the response to ‘Oka Manasu’ been?  

The collections have been fantastic. If a film doesn’t generate positive talk after the first show, how could it have been running to packed houses even after three days? Youngsters, whether those in love or not, are liking our film immensely.
 
Then why was the first half trimmed?
 
Since we loved the content so much, we couldn’t realize that there is an overdose of romance in the first half. When I watched the film with the audience at a multiplex, I could sense that the length is a bit too much. That’s why, we went for the trimming. Those who said that the first half was a bit boring, while the second half is terrific, are now saying that the first half too is good.
 
How has the response been to Niharika’s act?
 
She is getting all-round applause. Since she hails from a respected family, we took care not to disappoint the fans. I have been getting appreciation from the members of Mega family for doing a film like this with her. They have especially liked the last 30 minutes.
 
When Rama Raju narrated the script, weren’t you sceptical about the climax?
 
I felt that such an anti-climax would be accepted by the Telugu audience, who made ‘7/G Brindavan Colony’ and ‘Premisthe’ super hits. When dubbed films with an anti-climax do well, why wouldn’t a straight film. As a producer, I had the guts to do this film. We didn’t want to corrupt the script keeping in view C-class centres in view. Just in view of commerciality, we couldn’t have introduced an item song in the 30th minute of second half.   
 
Why is the male lead’s character shown to be someone counting on his caste in the movie?

Caste politics is a contemporary reality. Since Independence, we have been wishing it goes away, but it has only been getting strengthening. We have only shown that aspect dispassionately as there is a political drama in the story.
 
Why are you not directing films these days?
 
(Smiles). After the failure of ‘Back Bench Student’, I was disappointed. Moreover, I am not being missed by any. I was keen on remaking ‘Vicky Donor’, but dropped the idea because a remake would be intensely scrutinized by the media/public. I lost interest in the subject after a period of time. Later, I wanted to make a film based on cricketer Sreeshanth’s affair. We had differences over the nature of the climax. I wanted a realistic climax, while he favoured a cinematic climax. I eventually shelved the idea.