Amazon Prime video‘s Telugu original ammu has started streaming stream on OTT today and it is something that many viewers and movie buffs have been waiting for to watch on the big screen. Starring Naveen Chandra, Aishwarya Lekshmiand Bobby Simha starring, the film will be directed by Charukesh Shekar and has Karthik Subbaraj as a creative producer. The team was in Hyderabad to promote the film and in an exclusive talk with Bollywood Life, here’s what the team has to say.
The Ammu trailer looks so intense and interesting. What was the reason for choosing such a script?
Charukesh: During the lockdown, which was forced on us during the pandemic, I read that the number of domestic violence cases was increasing day by day. Husbands were home 24×7 and wives were in pain more than ever. So then I decided to work on this line to show what women have to go through. I hoped that Ammu would be an eye opener for many women who are unable to end violent and unhealthy marriages.
Karthik: Ammu is much more than just a movie. It’s a drama that has all the elements. Charukesh was my associate director and when he told me the story, I fell in love with it. We decided to get started right away. It turned out really well and we’re sure the audience will like it. We tried to keep it as realistic as possible and even the main characters did a great job.
Why did you choose Aishwarya and Naveen Chandra to play Ammu and Ravi respectively?
Charukesh: When I saw Jagame Thandiram and many other films of Aishwarya, I always felt that she is the one who can play intense roles. So she was my only choice. At the same time, I saw Andala Rakshasi by Naveen Chandra, in which I liked his characterization. Naveen has also played many negative shaded roles. In short, I’ve seen these actors do amazingly well on the big screen. I found Ammu and Ravi in it.
Aishwarya, you played an emotionally and physically tormented woman in this film. Stepping into Ammu’s shoes would certainly have been tough. How did you detox yourself from Ammu?
WHERE. It was draining. I am emotionally exhausted. For 40 days I had to pretend to be Ammu and get inside her skin. It wasn’t that easy, but it was great to see her on screen. At the same time, it wouldn’t have been easier or manageable without the support of the team. My Ravi (Naveen) made it easy for me. I have not played such a role until now. This one is quite contradictory to the one I played on screen in the past.
Naveen, you are someone who has played all kinds of roles with different shades. Ravi’s character is extreme to the negative hue. Why did you want to be Ravi?
When Mr. Charukesh called me to tell me about the script and the role, I briefly started to wonder how a director from the Tamil industry had come all the way to me to play Ravi in Ammu. Later he told me that he and his wife are big fans of Andala Rakshasi and have seen many of my movies.
To get to the question, I’m not Ravi. I can never be Ravi. And putting himself in his shoes was not an easy job for me at all. It was very stressful to be someone who is nothing less than an animal.
So you a protagonist with the shades of an antagonist. So how different and challenging was that?
It was very challenging. Very stressful. The whole time, during the shoot, I did nothing but practice being someone who is so domineering and abusive towards his wife. I kept reciting to myself the dialogues that roamed the sets here and there. Fortunately, people cooperated with me. No one started to stare or wonder what was wrong with me. They understood the depth of the role and why it was important to me to have that space and frame of mind before performing. I was a difficult but great work experience.
As you said, you came up with this storyline during the pandemic, to write characters like Ammu and Ravi, it takes some boundaries to show the extreme of an animal. So what did you have in mind while writing?
Charukesh: I had no references or ideas in mind. But as you said, the extreme is necessary. The characters should be written with great care. Karthik, my producer Kalyan, and I sat together as we worked on the characters and it was a cumulative idea from all of us about what Ammu and Ravi should be like.
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