Hero is the title of the upcoming Telugu film starring actor Ashok Galla in the lead role, announced actor Mahesh Babu on Wednesday, while also releasing the teaser of the film on social media.
Hero marks the acting debut of Galla, who is Mahesh Babu’s nephew and son of Guntur MP Jayadev Galla. The film is written and directed by filmmaker Sriram Adittya and produced by Padmavathi Galla under the Amara Raja Media and Entertainment banner. Chandra Sekhar Ravipati serves as the executive producer.
The film also stars actor Nidhi Agerwal, who was last seen in the Tamil action-drama Bhoomi. Other cast members include actors Jagapathi Babu, Naresh, Satya, and Archana Soundarya.
Speaking to Silverscreen India, Sriram says, “It is an entertainer, but it has a novel story — something fresh and exciting.”
The filmmaker adds that Hero is a film he has wanted to make for a long time now, since his debut with Bhale Manchi Roju (2015). “It is one of my favourite scripts. I have been developing it over a long period of time through my career.”
Terming it a “mixed-genre film”, he says it is difficult to give a one-liner about the film. “It has interesting elements and surprising factors. Without revealing too much, I can only tell you that the film will revolve around the title. It is about a guy who wants to be a hero.”
According to a press release issued by the team, Hero is almost done with its shooting and is gearing up for theatrical release.
Sriram confirms this and adds that only 2-3 days of shooting are left, which will start in a week’s time in Hyderabad. “We went on floors sometime between December 2019 and January 2020. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to stop our shooting in the middle for a year.”
Hero has been shot in Hyderabad, Rajahmundry, and Maredumilli (Andhra Pradesh), as well as in Jordon, by Richard Prasad and Sameer Reddy. The film marks the second collaboration of Sriram and Reddy, after Samanthakamani (2017).
“Reddy shot the cowboy train sequence that comes in the teaser. We shot that in Jordon. You will get to see a new kind of making in the film which will be visually pleasing and exciting. We have treated many sequences in a not-so-regular way when it comes to lighting,” the filmmaker says, adding that the film is being edited in parallel by Prawin Pudi.
While most of the film was shot in live locations, the filmmaker reveals that sets were also constructed for some portions by art director A Ramanjaneyulu. “We have used some interesting sets and innovative designs for the songs,” he adds.
The music of Hero is composed by Ghibran, and Sriram says, “I thought Ghibran was the best choice because we needed an interesting background score which complements the film. The re-recording is happening simultaneously.” He adds that the film includes about six songs in different genres.
The director reiterates that Hero will be a theatrical release. “We have not decided the release date yet, but preferably, we want it to be when people are ready to visit theatres again comfortably.”
