Suhas, the promising young actor of Telugu cinema, has been making waves with his performances in films like ‘Colour Photo’ and ‘Writer Padmabhushan’. He is now ready to entertain the audience with his upcoming film “Ambajipeta Marriage Band.” The film produced jointly by GA2 Pictures and director Venkatesh Maha’s Mahayana motion pictures, the film is coming also under the banner of Dheeraj Mogilineni Entertainment. The film is directed by Dushyanth Katikineni and stars Shivani Nagaram in female lead role. It also stars Saranya Pradeep, Nithin, Goparaju Ramana, Jagadeesh Prathap Bhandari in key roles. After completing all pre release programs, the film is releasing on February 2nd. Today hero Suhas interacted with media about the film and also shared his excitement.
“Writer Padmabhushan’s release in February last year received good success. ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ is hitting the theaters on February 2nd. We believe that this film will also be successful. My son was born recently. It looks like it’s going well. We prepared for the movie ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ for many days, learning to play in a band. We practiced the scenes that we wanted to connect well in the story, even shaving my head twice for it. We believed in this project for two years and worked hard. We believe and hope that two years of hard work will yield good results in the form of success. We shot in Amalapuram and Ambajipet, areas I am familiar with due to the atmosphere and the slang. I have friends there, and I visit those areas with them when I have time. Dushyanth’s story moved me. During the lockdown, we read the script many times and discussed which points were good. Believing in the story, I agreed to shave my head. Our entire team worked on the script with confidence.”
I have not seen the incidents in this story in real life, but the incidents seen by our director make up half of the story. This story is inspired by what he saw and some situations that happened in his life, with the rest being a result of cinematic liberty. ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ is set in 2007. The story of this movie is fun until twenty minutes before the interval, after which it intensifies. After watching until the interval, you will feel that the movie is well made. After that, the movie continues with an emotional tone. The films I have done so far are fun, and there is also emotion in ‘Color Photo’. But this movie runs on high emotions. When you watch the movie tomorrow, you will wonder how I managed to act so emotionally. I have known director Dushyanth since I was acting in short films. He worked as an assistant director for ‘Dear Comrade’ and ‘Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya’ movies. He had always said he would do a movie with me. My career as a comedian is good. I used to worry that my career would be ruined because I am not a traditional hero. He said, ‘I have always thought that once the ‘Color Photo’ movie comes out, you will be the hero with them.’ Then we immediately started on this movie.
Color photo movie has no similarity or relation with “Ambajipeta Marriage Band” movie. Both are different stories. The background of the village makes you feel similar.
Although caste is mentioned in ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’, the actual theme of the movie is not about caste. The main point is the barriers created by ego between people. Sharanya and I are twins in the movie, and how events on our birthdays turn our lives around is a key aspect of this story. The audience will likely connect with most of the scenes, as some may feel like they have happened in their own lives too. My excitement for this script increased during production. Now, with Shekhar Chandra’s BGM, it has reached another level. After seeing the final copy, I felt very satisfied. As the lead actor, I feel pressure during the release, especially when it’s said that I carry the film on my shoulders. It’s scary to hear that. The movie’s title includes ‘marriage band’, and though we considered different names for the town, we added ‘Ambajipeta as it sounded good. Dushyanth and Venkatesh Maha are great friends. Dushyanth liked the story and approached Venkatesh, Dheeraj, and Geetha Arts to initiate the project.
When we were shooting in Amalapuram, the local people treated us with incredible warmth. They refused to let us eat in a hotel even when we offered to pay, asking if they should charge us for shooting in their village. Their love left us speechless. Allu Aravind praised ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ as a good movie. When we met at the SIIMA celebrations, he appreciated my performance. His compliments made me very happy.
My friends say that ‘Color Photo’ would have done better if it was released in theaters. But what happened, happened. It seems we gained good recognition even though it was an OTT release. We were thrilled when the film won a National Award. There was apprehension about how ‘Writer Padmabhushan’ would be received in theaters, but the movie was profitable. I am satisfied that our movies are being watched. We need to produce even better content and make careful selections. Sandeep is planning a movie for ‘Color Photo’, and the story he told me is next level. Discussions for that movie are ongoing. I did a movie called ‘Prasannavadanam’ with Sukumar’s associate, which already completed. I am also working on another movie called ‘Cable Reddy’. A film under the banner of Dil Raju with Salaar dialogue writer and it is in the works.
I am selecting concepts that are new and different from the types of stories I’ve done before. I prefer to be known as an actor rather than just a hero. After my role as a villain in ‘Hit 2’, I received many similar offers, but I want to continue as a hero. It seems that when I get a bit older, I’ll fit into more diverse characters. Right now, my youthful appearance limits the variety of roles I can take on.
Heroine Shivani Nagaram is set to earn a good name after this movie. Her performance was impressive. Shivani, a dancer and singer, and Sharanya, who played the role of the elder sister, along with Nitin, who portrayed the villain, will also gain significant recognition from this movie. Nitin is from Malayalam. He learned Telugu and adapted to the Amalapuram dialect so well that those who met him couldn’t believe he was Malayali. I am shy about doing romantic scenes. Our directors often reprimand me. During this movie, when we were about to shoot a romantic scene, directors like Sandeep called Dushyanth, warning him that I might not perform well. ‘Bro, when will you start doing romantic scenes properly in your career?’ Dushyanth asked. The premiere of ‘Writer Padmabhushan’ received positive feedback. Premieres are crucial for my movies. If early viewers like it, others will book tickets and go to the theaters. For actors like me, the response to premieres is very important. ‘Writer Padmabhushan’ collected 400k in the US, marking my first US release. Now, ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ is releasing in 200 locations, and we are expecting good collections. I have known producer Dheeraj for a long time. He supported ‘Color Photo’ and ‘Writer Padmabhushan’ in time by providing theaters. My parents couldn’t believe I was doing a film with Geetha Arts until they saw my name on the poster. Everyone dreams of acting under big banners for the good release and hype it brings. ‘Ambajipeta Marriage Band’ is loved by all of us, and we are confident about it. Please watch it in theaters on 2nd Feb.
