Telugu director K.S. Ravindra is happy and relaxed as he talks to tabloid! over the phone.
The reason? His second film, Sardar Gabbar Singh, has been cleared by the censor board.
Touted as a high-octane action entertainer, Ravindra says that Sardar Gabbar Singh is not a sequel to Gabbar Singh (the Telugu remake of Bollywood hit, Dabangg) nor a remake of Dabangg 2.
This story is completely different and is written by lead actor Pawan Kalyan himself.
Kalyan played the lead role in the 2012 film Gabbar Singh, the story of a policeman who grew up in awe of the iconic Sholay villain and later calls himself Gabbar Singh.
“In fact, the script was ready two and a half years ago,” says Ravindra, who was surprised when he was called to meet the Telugu star and was offered to direct this film.
“Here you will see more of the maverick cop’s lover-boy image. There is romance and comedy woven into it in good measure. Fans will rejoice,” he adds.
Kajal Aggarwal is paired opposite Kalyan, playing a princess. Hindi television actor Sharad Khelar enters Telugu cinema as the antagonist of this story.
“We were looking for an actor who is more than six feet [tall] and looks sophisticated. Sharad fit the bill,” Ravindra says. “He is Bhairo Singh, a Rajput, and his role is [on] par with the hero. Sharad has done a fantastic job.”
Sardar Gabbar Singh was shot in Hyderabad with sets costing Rs50 million (Dh2.7 million). Some scenes were shot at Baroda Palace. Look out for an action scene that involved around a hundred fighters and was choreographed by stunt master brothers Ram and Laxman. Lakshmi Rai has danced for an item song.
An ardent Chiranjeevi fan, Ravindra grew up in Guntur and claims to have watched every film of his idol. The magic of films drew him to Hyderabad, where he assisted popular Telugu scriptwriter Chinni Krishna for two years and then worked under Telugu writer-director Kona Venkat for five years. After assisting on the sets of the Mohan Babu film Political Rowdy, Ravindra was ready to fly solo. His debut film, Power, a police story featuring Ravi Teja in the lead, was a hit.
His next film will be a mass entertainer, but certainly not another cop story.
The Hindi and Telugu versions release in the UAE on April 7.
