“Megastar Chiranjeevi predicted Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo would do extremely well at the box office. He watched the film in preview theater and gave his verdict.” Allu Arjun said during his interaction with media.
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is doing extremely well at the ticket counters and establishing Non-Bahubali records. The makers held a press meet on Monday to celebrate the success of the film and here is a transcript of the chitchat with the people behind Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo.
Now that Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is an industry hit, how do you feel?
The producers announced that Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo is an industry hit. This isn’t my victory, but a token of appreciation from the Telugu audience. If a film sets a new record, it doesn’t mean the hero is a rank above, but the audience have shown their love towards the respective film, as a whole. I am overwhelmed with the response for the film and I couldn’t have asked for more.
Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo beat Bahubali records in many areas, but you mentioned it is a non-Bahubali record, why so?
Allu Aravind: What you said is right. This film stood next only to Bahubali 2 in many areas. We regarded Bahubali duology as a single unit and reported the collections accordingly. We(the producers) are the ones who really care about collections and feel happy for the same. The hero and director are content with the response their film gathers. This film is presently in top 3 in USA and will stand next to Bahubali soon. It is still going strong in domestic market.
You are getting to speak about records after a long time, what’s your take on this?
Allu Arjun: Every hero scores a monumental record some time in his career. I previously had a record film but it didn’t set records in all the areas combined. My father’s Geetha Arts has 10 All-time record hits. He scored many blockbusters with Chiranjeevi garu. Ghajini, Magadheera, etc. are examples of the same. I fell proud to have scored an all-time hit with my father now. This is very special and I will always cherish it. I have been dreaming of something like this for a long time. I have to thank Trivikram for it.
Did you expect such a big hit when Trivikram narrated the story to you first?
Allu Arjun: I did not know this film would do so very well. No one can ever really do that. All I wanted to do was give my very best for the film. The audience appreciated our efforts and took it to the next level. I did not do this film hoping it would be a gold mine. Trivikram narrated me a good story and I liked it. We wanted to do a simple and happy film. The audience liked it very much.
How much credit would you give to your fans for the success of the film and also the general audience?
Allu Arjun: Honestly, we can’t differentiate it like that. Many of my fans have watched the film. We can’t estimate the number of general audience. A fan need not erect a banner and fight for their hero, even a silent admirer can be regarded as a fan. One thing is clear, fans, common audience and general movie-goers lap up a film if their like it.
Whom would you credit the most for the film’s success?
Allu Arjun: Cinema is all about team work. If I have to chose one person, it will be Trivikram. After ‘Naa Peru Surya’, Bunny Vasu, Vakkantham Vamsi, and I were contemplating on the director of my next film. This is when Vamsi suggested Trivikram and went ahead with it.
You earned a good response for your performance, how do you feel about it?
Allu Arjun: I did not expect the audience to speak about my performance right from the matinee and evening shows. This is Trivikram’s trick. Trivikram told he wanted to extract the best of me. I did not even remotely imagine my performance would get such a response. Trivikram made me do so well in the film. How did you manage to get it sir?
Trivikram: Even I am not sure sir
Allu Aravind: I asked Bunny his feeling after watching the film and he said ‘This is Trivikram’s magic’.
Trivikram: I wanted Bunny to ooze charm and perform naturally. We pinpointed a few scenes and wanted particular kind of performances. Interval scene is one of them. We treated every shot like a film. I imagined a graph and Bunny emulated it.
How do you feel about the grand success?
Trivikram: Producers and distributors are the ones who need numbers. We need alphabets and they need numbers. More than the box office numbers of the film, Bunny and I are elated with the number of people who are watching the film. This is what every artist would want.
Allu Arjun: I saw the positive energy people develop if Trivikram and I come together. I feel it would repeat again if we work together in the future. Now that the audience have connected well with Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, it gives us new hopes to experiment around further.
Did you and Prabhas speak about the film?
Allu Arjun: I did not get the chance to speak about Bahubali till now. I personally told Rajamouli about it. Prabhas is worthy of each and every bit of appreciation he got for Bahubali. He could have scored numerous blockbusters in a span of five years after Mirchi. Of the five years he dedicated for Bahubali, he could have relaxed for three and a half years after working for one and a half years had he done commerical films. His sacrifice and determination is to be commended. I felt very happy after coming to know that a statue of his was established at Madam Tussauds. Records are very contemporary. We might achieve one today, but someone else will do it in the next six weeks. However, the love from the audience is permanent. No one can replace that.
Neither Chiranjeevi nor Ram Charan spoke about the film after its release. Did they speak with you?
Allu Arjun: Megastar Chiranjeevi predicted Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo would do extremely well at the box office. He watched the film in preview theater and gave his verdict. He was very particular about the result and affirmed it would do exceedingly well. It takes a lot of experience to predict so very accurately and he is really great.
Trivikram: Bunny and I were shocked after seeing Chiranjeevi’s response. We thought he was encouraging us.
What did you learn from Trivikram in this journey?
Allu Arjun: I learnt something new from every film. Trivikram is an open person. He gives his honest feedback on our work. From Trivikram, I learnt how attach after getting detached. That could be one of the reasons why this film is doing so well.
You scored an industry hit now. How much remuneration are you giving to your son?
Trivikram: I urge Allu Aravind and Geetha Arts to monitor further proceedings in this regard.
Allu Aravind: My son and I are like friends. However, we are a bit strict when it comes to profession. I give the remuneration to heroes one week before the commencement of the project. I did it with Chiranjeevi garu as well. Now, I did the same for Bunny
