Merise Merise, the upcoming Telugu film, written and directed by debutant Pawan Kumar K, is a “feel-good, light-hearted romantic comedy,” the filmmaker said in a conversation with Silverscreen India.
It is set to hit the theatres on August 6, alongside other Telugu films such as SR Kalyanamandapam and Mugguru Monagallu.
Merise Merise is produced by Venkatesh Kothuri under his home banner Kothuri Entertainments LLP and features Dinesh Tej and Shweta Avasthi in the lead roles.
Speaking about the film, director Pawan said, “Most people who enter their 20s experience a crisis or confusion. Until then, they are in a continuous flow of education. But in their 20s, they have to make important decisions in their professional and personal lives. In Merise Merise, the lead characters, Vennila and Sidhu, also face similar issues. How they help each other out and how they understand each other in the process forms the story.”
“There is humour element in the film, but I did not want it to be just a laugh riot,” the filmmaker added. “It’s a simple, linear script. There is nothing confusing and no unnecessary twists or hiccups.”
Noting that he is an avid watcher of Hindi movies, especially women-centric films, the director revealed that the kind of female characters he would like to write are like the ones played by Vidya Balan and Rani Mukherjee in some of their films. “Most films that feature women as the primary leads either do male-bashing or show them as activists. I don’t think every girl needs to be an activist. Women empowerment is not always about male-bashing. I want to show normal girls who go about their personal and professional lives with grace,” he added.
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Expanding on the female protagonist of Merise Merise, Pawan said, “Vennila is B Com final year student who is engaged to be married. She decides to do something with her life, but faces obstacles, not just from people around her, but also the whole society which tries to restrict her. The film shows how she starts becoming assertive.”
Merise Merisa went on floors in September 2019 and was wrapped in February 2020, before the Covid-19 lockdown. It was shot in Hyderabad and Rajahmundry.
“We opted to wait for the theatres to open up to release it. This is my debut film, and I want to see how the audience reacts to the film before planning my future projects,” the filmmaker said.
The film has been certified ‘U’ and has a runtime of two hours. It features four songs, all composed by Karthik Kodakandla.