Don`t look down on Telugu film industry: Krishna DK

Chennai: The Telugu film industry is as big as Bollywood and should not be looked down upon, says filmmaker Krishna DK, who has co-directed Hindi films such as ‘99’ and ‘Shor in the City’ and is now all set to release his maiden Telugu crime-comedy ‘D for Dopidi’.

"The bridge between Bollywood and Telugu film industry is growing stronger day by day with many Telugu films being remade in Hindi and vice versa. This only proves that the Telugu film industry can`t be looked down upon but needs to be treated on a par with Bollywood," Krishna said. "Since some stories suit only a particular section of the audience, films tend to get made in Hindi, Telugu or any other language. Our new film will be apt for Telugu audiences and hence we`re making it in Telugu," said Krishna. Krishna is co-producing ‘D for Dopidi’ with Raj Nidimoru, with whom he has directed all his films. Asked why he was shifting from Hindi to Telugu, he said: "Since I`m from Andhra Pradesh, I always wanted to make a film in Telugu. In fact, Raj and I were supposed to direct this film, but unfortunately we had other commitments. We intend to direct a Telugu film soon." Suraj Kalla has directed the film, which stars Varun Sandesh, Sundeep Kishan, Naveen, Rakesh, Melanie and Tanikella Bharani. "It`s the story of four ordinary youngsters from different walks of life whose lives are suddenly changed when they resort to crime," he said. The film, which was shot completely in Hyderabad over a course of 45 days, is currently under post-production. It is likely to release towards the end of January 2013. Krishna feels promotional standards used in Bollywood and Tollywood may differ but not the approach per se. "We`re promoting our film based on a gut feeling, which is based on what we`ve learnt from Bollywood. The promotional standards differ from one language to another but not the approach on the whole. We shot a promotional music video, which we believe is a relatively new concept in Telugu, and it helped us strike a chord with our audience," he added. Is this film also based on true events like ‘99’ and ‘Shor in the City’? "`99` was based on true events, but the story was fictionalised, whereas `Shor...` was based on true stories published in newspaper articles. However, `D for Dopidi` is a full-length fictional comedy about real people like you and I, whose lives are changed due to a situation," Krishna said. Asked why he preferred working with an ensemble cast, he said: "When you work with a single actor, one tends to get only one point of view of the story. Having multiple stars helps in seeing a film from different perspectives." IANS