According to actor Naveen Polishetty, the goal of their Telugu film “Jathi Ratnalu” was to maintain the entertainment factor high since “humour is medicine” in these times. The film, which was praised for its spontaneous comedy sequences through the hilarious misadventures of three layabouts who travel from their small-town Jogipet to Hyderabad in search of king-size lives but end up in trouble, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video following a successful theatrical run.
“In some respects, humor is medicine. It has a really positive impact on our issues. So it’s thrilling that the picture has done so well at the box office because nothing compares to the emotion a storyteller gets when a film makes a positive difference in people’s lives.”
In a Zoom interview with PTI, Naveen said, “That has been the most pleasant takeaway from this.” According to the actor, they worked on every scene and line of conversation to ensure that the audience was delighted throughout.
“Our main goal when we arrived on stage was to see if this sequence would make people laugh sufficiently. If not, let’s step it up a notch, make more jokes, and create stronger situations to boost the entertainment factor. Every day, that was deliberate thinking.”
The film is replete with movie allusions, from Madhuri Dixit to Salman Khan, which came naturally to both Naveen and director Anudeep KV as film lovers. “We just had one goal in mind to succeed make spectators laugh, laugh, laugh,” Anudeep, a self-confessed fan of Raj Kapoor and Rajkumar Santoshi, notably his 1994 comedy “Andaz Apna Apna,” added.
“This is a tribute to all of my favorite films and directors. He didn’t write the script with all of those elements in mind, but as a movie buff, they naturally found their way into the plot,” added the director. Naveen, who is most known for the flicks “Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya” and “Chhichhore,” has comedic origins and attributes his success to his love of cinema.
“He is a huge movie fan myself. Watching some of my favorite films as a kid was what led me into this zone where he wanted to be an actor. That is the power of cinema: it has the ability to transform someone’s life forever”, stated the actor. The 31-year-old Hyderabad native, whose father works in the pharmaceutical industry and whose mother works for a bank, earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering before deciding to pursue a career in film.
The actor explained that the goal of including all the Bollywood and South film allusions was to have fun while also “paying homage to all these great who have come before us.” One of their allusions was “Andaz Apna Apna.”
The film is also a major hit in the United States.
The film is a homage to the middle-class dream, according to Naveen, since it deals with unemployment, corruption, and middle-class dreams via the relationship of three small-town individuals.
“None of us, including Anudeep, myself, the rest of the actors, and the technical staff, have ever worked in the film industry. We’re all from middle-class families that love movies and want to create t
ales in the business, and the film’s box office success offers middle-class dreams hope.” Naveen said.
