Virata Parvam is not about Naxalite propaganda: Venu Udugula

A couple of years ago, when filmmaker Venu Udugula first narrated the plot of his film Virata Parvam to Rana Daggubati, it had excited the actor instantly and he immediately came on board. “I was inspired by the political developments of Andhra Pradesh (united) during 1992 and wanted to pen a fictional story,” explains Venu, clarifying, however, that Virata Parvam is not about Naxalite propaganda. “It is a beautiful love story in the backdrop of the Naxalites.”

An epic connection

Virata Parvam is actually the title of the fourth of the eighteen books of the Indian epic saga, Mahabharata. Venu tells us that his film too has several elements from that episode of the epic saga, although his film is not related to the epic.

“As my film has elements such as politics, conspiracy, love, vendetta and positivity, we felt that it would be an apt title,” explains the director. “The only common factor is the psychological aspects of the principal characters in the film are similar to that of the characters in the epic.” Venu goes on to tell us that he enjoyed working with the ensemble cast including Rana Daggubati, Sai Pallavi, Priyamani and Nandita Das.

“I love making social dramas and telling such stories to the public through my films,” adds Venu. “And I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges brought about by the setup, large canvases and, of course, the super cast. Rana, Sai Pallavi, etc., have all walked the extra mile, understood the script to the core, underwent training and carried my vision with the same intensity. They kept on regularly asking me about the various nuances and the mannerisms of the characters and eventually brought dignity to them. Stepping into a new world is very difficult, but they did it with great ease.”

The director reveals that all the principal characters in the period drama are females. “The kind of performances Priyamani, Sai Pallavi and Nandita Das have delivered will leave the audiences spellbound,” he tells us, appreciating the film’s producer Sudhakar Cherukuri for backing such an intense film.

Real-life stories coming alive

The Needi Naadi Oke Katha director further adds that the film chronicles significant political developments that happened in the united AP during the 1990s. “The film is inspired by real-life incidents, and has a strong romantic angle woven into a political scenario. It is a personal love story of an important personality, which happened during the political chaos. But for the moment I can’t tell you who that person is,” adds Venu.

He does, however, share with us that the film is high on emotion. “How does it feel when someone very dear to us passes away?” he asks in explanation. “The audiences too will walk out from the theatres with heavy hearts; the film is hard-hitting, intense and emotional too.