Producers Ravi Polishetty, Mahendra Gajendra Interview

In this interview, the producers talk about their vision and intent behind bankrolling the laugh riot. Sivannarayana plays a full-fledged role in this quirky comedy with loads of fun. The producers talk about the scale of the movie's release, their thought processes, and more. 

Excerpts from the interview: 

Ravi Polishetty:

I and my fellow producer Mahendra have been into IT and real estate for many years in the US. I hail from Nalgonda. I run my businesses with the support of my team. I employ many IT and non-IT employees in India. Any business needs common sense. It applies to cinema as well. If you plan the budget and all, everything will be smooth. People management, cost-cutting, and timely planning are crucial in the film industry. 

I have been handling creative projects for the past six years. I started out in a small way. Short films, music albums and others have been handled. I have done 10 projects so far. 'Vitamin She' was released on Amazon Prime Video during the pandemic. It was a small sci-fi movie whose success boosted my confidence. I handled my previous projects while being in the US. This time, though, I moved to India to be present in person. 

'Sound Party' was finalized after listening to about 25 scripts. In the OTT era, there has been a dominance of thrillers. Healthy comedies have become rare. That's why we made this comedy entertainer. Director Sanjay Sheri's concept impressed us. 

Choosing VJ Sunny was the director's choice. Presenter Jaya Shankar, too, felt he would be apt. The presenter's contribution has been immense to the making. The truth of the matter is that a star hero wouldn't want to work with us because we are newcomers. I liked Sunny in the web series 'ATM'. He is a very good performer. 

The shoot was completed in 26 working days. That's an accomplishment in itself. The budget did go up but that's okay. So many got livelihood opportunities, thanks to this project. That's satisfying. 

As a producer, I implemented some of the people management lessons I have learned over the years. In the US, comedies receive a thumping response from the audience. 

Usually, only the father or the son is a dimwit in our movies. What happens when both of them are dumb? 'Sound Party' explores the idea in generating hilarity. There is an episode surrounding Bitcoins and this is the first time in Telugu that something of this sort has been done. This is the only episode in which I got involved on the creative level. 

We have invested our own money in the movie. We didn't borrow from financiers. We have found the right theatres, thanks to our distributors, and decided to produce the movie on November 24 on about 100 screens in the Telugu States. The number might go up. In the US, it is our self release on 150 screens. Amazon Prime Video has bought our film for post-theatrical digital streaming. 

I myself am a writer. I have produced a crossover Hollywood project before. I can judge punchy one-liners and all. The flavour of comedy in 'Sound Party' is unique. 

I have ten stories in place. My aim is to introduce newcomers as a producer. We will try multiple genres. We also have a plan to make a crossover children's film. 

Mahendra Gajendra:

I entered the project as a partner because I have always trusted Ravi. I volunteered to become a producer after watching the rough cut of 'Sound Party'. I trust Ravi. When I saw 'Sound Party', my quest for the right project ended. It took me four years to zero in on something like this. 

We call rich people 'sound party'.  The title alludes to the material richness. We don't think this film is a risky one. The content will speak for itself. Once the 'word of mouth' is positive, the film will pick up pace.