Allari Naresh’s Aa Okkati Adakku is releasing in theatres this Friday (May 3, 2024). Malli Ankam is making his directorial debut with this comedy entertainer about issues related to marriage. Rajiv Chilaka produced the film under Chilaka Productions. Faria Abdullah is the female lead. Ahead of the release, Naresh interacted with the media, and here is the transcript.
This film is named Aa Okkati Adakku. Are you under pressure since Aa Okkati Adakku is your father’s iconic movie?
Obviously, there will be a lot of pressure since we have used the iconic title. There will be many expectations, and comparisons are inevitable. There won’t be any similarities between my father’s Aa Okkati Adakku and this film. We have considered many titles, and one among them is “Match Fixing.” We thought people would relate the term match-fixing to IPL. Also, we wished to have a Telugu title. We wanted the title to be catchy. Aa Okkati Adakku is the apt title for this film since the protagonist is pressurized by one and all about his marriage.
You are back to a comedy film. What is the reason for doing a fun entertainer?
Aa Okkati Adakku should have been released before Naa Saami Ranga. I thought of doing serious and fun entertainers in a parallel manner. Due to Covid, I couldn’t do more films. Producer Rajiv was also busy with Chota Bheem, and hence, the release got delayed. I have been listening to many scripts. People expect a different kind of humor lately. Aa Okkati Adakku will have solid entertainment but the end portions will be emotional with a message.
During promotions, your team has stated that the film will also showcase scams. Could you elaborate on that?
Our film will depict the scams committed by marriage bureaus. We invested more time in scripting because we didn’t want to take more cinematic liberties. Our director and writing team explained the various scams and frauds associated with marriages. Several fraudsters are looting money from innocent people by sending fake profiles. We have touched upon aspects like data breach and data privacy. This is the unique thing about Aa Okkati Adakku, which hasn’t been discussed previously.
Back then, you used to release four movies in a year. Did you change the style now?
No. This year, I will be having four releases in total. I appeared in Naa Saami Ranga for Sankranti, and Aa Okkati Adakku is arriving within two days. My new film, Bachchala Malli, will be released in July or August. In December, I will have another release.
Will you direct a film in the future?
As of now, my whole concentration is on acting. I won’t be directing a film anytime soon. For Sudigadu 2, I have started writing, and let’s see how it shapes up. I have some crazy ideas. When I visited Mumbai recently, people were saying that South Indian movies won’t have logics referring to Sudigadu. They don’t know that it is a parody film. I will take scenes from all languages for Sudigadu 2 so that it reaches a wide range of audience.
Will you try dark humor in your films?
Only a few directors have tried dark humor in Telugu. The best example of a film with dark humor is Andhadhun. The situations are very serious, but the performances and dialogues make us laugh. There is always a scope for dark humor. Audiences now expect humor along with good content. I wouldn’t mind doing films with dark humor if filmmakers approach me with good scripts.