The first look poster of Sammathame, the upcoming Telugu film starring actor Kiran Abbavaram and Chandini Chowdary in lead roles, was released by the makers on social media on the occasion of the actor’s birthday on Thursday.
The debutant filmmaker, Gopinath Reddy, has also written the story and dialogues of the film. Sammathame is produced by Reddy’s mother Kankanala Praveena under the UG Productions banner.
Speaking about the story of the film, Reddy who has directed a few short films before, told Silverscreen India, “At its core, it is a romantic drama about accepting others as they are and loving them unconditionally. The title of the film, ‘Sammathame’, means acceptance in Telugu.”
While Kiran plays a software industry employee, Chandini, who shot to fame with 2020 Telugu film Colour Photo, plays an urban girl, paired opposite Kiran.
“The male lead in the film (played by Kiran) comes from a lower-middle-class background and has graduated in his hometown. He lost his mother when he was young and has a lot of expectations about the girl he wants to marry. The female lead (played by Chandini), however, does not meet these expectations he has. The rest of the story is about how love blossoms between the two,” the filmmaker said.
“There is no villain or external conflict in the film. The whole story is based on the internal conflict between these two people and how the guy has to accept her for who she is,” he added.
The story of the film, said Reddy, is inspired from his observations about his group of friends who spoke about having to “change for their spouses”.
“When I was hanging out with them, I heard them speak about the expectations they had about life partners and how many of them changed themselves for their spouses. This is where I got the idea to do a story on acceptance and taking people into your lives as they are. I started the script in September 2018. Due to the pandemic, however, it took time for the project to kick off,” said Reddy.
According to the filmmaker, he has used a mix of both linear and non-linear screenplay.
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“I have worked with Kiran while I was doing short films and we have a good working relationship. I approached him and he was up for the role. I also found Chandini apt for the role, which requires someone who is both modern and traditional,” he added.
Sammathame is shot in Hyderabad and Goa. The film went on floors on January 16 but shooting came to a halt due to the second wave of Covid-19 in March. It later resumed on July 1. Currently, about 80% of the shooting schedule has been completed.
“We have avoided cinematic studios and the film was shot entirely in real locations using an anamorphic lens to get realistic frames,” Reddy said.
Sammathame features six songs composed by Sekhar Chandra.
Speaking about the release, the director said, “Kiran has a few films lined up for release. I am planning to release Sammathame during Christmas, hopefully in theatres.”