Ori Devuda, the upcoming Telugu film starring actors Vishwak Sen and Mithila Palkar in the lead, will likely be released in theatres by early 2022, says director Ashwath Marimuthu.
The film is a remake of his own Tamil film Oh My Kadavule (2020), a romantic fantasy that featured actors Ashok Selvan and Ritika Singh in the lead, with Vani Bhojan and Vijay Sethupathi playing pivotal roles.
In conversation with Silverscreen India, Ashwath reveals that the producers of Ori Devuda watched the Tamil film and obtained the remake rights even before its release. And they wanted to do the remake with the same director.
Ori Devuda is produced by PVP Cinemas, in association with Dil Raju’s Sri Venkateswara Creations. The makers released the first-look poster of the film on social media recently.
Oh My Kadavule, which was widely appreciated by both the critics and the audience, revolves around the relationship of a young married couple – Arjun and Anu (played by Ashok and Singh) – who have been best friends since childhood. When the two end up filing for divorce, a divine intervention occurs in Arjun’s life and Kadavul or God (Sethupathi) gives Arjun a second chance.
While Sen is stepping into Ashok’s shoes in the remake, Palkar reprises Singh’s role. “Vishwak Sen is a popular youngster in Telugu cinema. I needed someone new and appealing, and so we chose the few-films-old actor. As for Mithila, I knew her from Little Things. Also, Anu is called ‘noodles manda‘ (noodle-head) in Oh My Kadavule and that’s an important character trait. So, we needed someone with curly hair, and Mithila was apt for the role,” says Ashwath.
The film marks Palkar’s Telugu debut.
As for the actors essaying Sethupathi and Vani’s roles, the director notes that they will be known faces.
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“Ori Devuda will be a fresh take on these characters within the Oh My Kadavule world. I know the plus and minus points of this film, and that helped me when working on the remake,” he adds.
The film went on floors in April and was wrapped up recently. It has been shot by cinematographer Vidhu Ayyana, with Garry BH serving as the editor. Tharun Bhascker has written the dialogues for the Telugu adaptation.
Leon James, who scored the music for the Tamil original, is also composing for the Telugu film. However, the filmmaker notes that it will be a new album with five or six songs.
Ashwath reveals that he will be also helming the Hindi remake of the film, which will be backed by Endemol Shine and Jio.