Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu has announced the title of one of the two bilingual films she signed recently. The film, titled Yashoda, went on floors on Monday.
Made in Tamil and Telugu, Yashoda is backed by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad under the Sridevi Films banner, which has earlier produced Telugu films such as Aditya 369 (1991), Gentleman (2016), and Sammohanama (2018).
The film is directed by the filmmaker duo Hareesh Narayan and Hari Shankar. It marks the Telugu debut of the duo that has earlier helmed the Tamil period science-fiction thriller Ambuli (2012).
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Hareesh says Yashoda is a thriller about a simple and ordinary girl who comes to face a big challenge. “The film is about how she overcomes this challenge. In myth, Yashoda is referred to as a divine mother and we titled our film after her to bring that feel. The name of Samantha’s character is also Yashoda. However, the film is set in the contemporary world.”
The duo had been working on this script for a while, but it was during the lockdown in 2020 that it really took shape. “Most of our discussions were held over Zoom and we worked for about six months to research and fine-tune the script,” says Hareesh.
The casting is underway for the female-centric film, with prominent faces expected to come on board.
Yashoda will be completely shot inside a set in Hyderabad. Filmed simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu, it is expected to be wrapped by April.
Recommended
Ashok, who is handling the art direction, gives us more information about the set. “We have erected a hospital set since we could not work with existing premises. We were looking for a different kind of setting, something dreamy. What we’ve put up is a two-floor set, composed primarily of steel and gypsum boards. It took us about a month to get it ready.”
Apart from Yashoda, Ashok is also working on Samantha’s mythological film Shakuntalam. He reveals that the shooting for Shakuntalam has been completed and VFX works are currently on.
The technical crew of Yashoda, meanwhile, also consists of cinematographer M Sukumar and composer Mani Sharma. The latter is composing three songs for the film as well as the theme music and background score. Yashoda will be edited by Marthand K Venkatesh. The makers are also planning to release the film in Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi, given Samantha’s pan-Indian audience.