Paagal, the upcoming Telugu film starring actors Vishwak Sen and Nivetha Pethuraj in the lead roles, is set to release theatrically in over 400 screens on Saturday, director Naresh Kuppili told Silverscreen India.
Dil Raju is presenting the film, produced by his Sri Venkateswara Creations banner in association with Bekkam Venu Gopal’s Lucky Media.
Kuppili, who has also penned the story and screenplay of Paagal, said it is a romantic comedy inspired by the 2004 Allu Arjun-starrer Arya (2004), directed by Sukumar.
Calling himself a “big fan” of Sukumar, the filmmaker added, “Paagal is a love story, similar to Arya. Vishwak plays a boy named Prem, who is a romantic by heart, a lover boy with about 1,600 love stories. It is about how he finds true love finally. Paagal means mad, and the title refers to the hero’s characterisation as this love-struck, hopeless romantic.”
Talking about the cast, the filmmaker said, “I’ve known Vishwak Sen for sometime now, since we have done a few projects for Lucky Media. We used to discuss films and that’s how this collaboration came about. Casting Nivetha Pethuraj was Dil Raju sir’s call. She plays a biologist and plant researcher. Apart from her, Simran Choudhary and Megha Lekha also star opposite Vishwak in the film. And Indraja Shankar plays an important role as well.”
The film, with cinematography by S Manikandan and editing by Garry BH, went on floors in March 2020, before the lockdown was imposed. Production was halted in the wake of the pandemic and then resumed in August 2020 and finally wrapped up this July. The film was shot in Puducherry, Vizag, and Hyderabad.
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Paagal features seven songs composed by Radhan, while the background score is by Leon James. The runtime of the film, which has been certified U/A, is two hours and 15 minutes.
Kuppili revealed that the team had always planned on releasing the film in theatres. “Since films like SR Kalyanamandapam are doing well, we decided to release it now,” he added.
The filmmaker also added that he is currently working on multiple scripts, including a thriller, a sports drama, and an anthology.