The American Dream, the upcoming Telugu film starring actors Prince Cecil and Neha Krishna, will premiere on the Aha streaming platform on Friday. The film’s trailer was released last week.
The film, written and directed by Vighnesh Koushik, is produced by Pradeep Reddy.
Speaking to Silverscreen India about his directorial debut, Vighnesh said “The film is a crime-comedy drama. It is a story about a guy from a middle-class family in India who goes to the US to chase after the American dream and make it big. This film is primarily about the hurdles he faces, the people he meets, and how he overcomes the challenges that are thrown at him. The film has a hint of a crime genre too.”
Vighnesh, who is based in the US, calls himself an engineer by profession and a filmmaker by passion. The filmmaker, who has also written the script for the film said that it is based on his own experiences of studying in the US.
“This was written during the pre-Covid time and we began the pre-production about 2.5 years ago. Right from day one, it was meant to be a project for Aha. I made a pilot in the US and sent it over to Aha. After Allu Aravind saw it, Aha gave the go-ahead. That was when the pandemic hit,” he added.
Vighnesh added that nearly all portions of the film were shot in the US, including places like Illinois, Chicago, Indiana, among others, with a few days of shoot in Hyderabad, India as well. It was filmed in over a month in November 2021 and is currently in the final stages of post-production.
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While Prince Cecil, who also acted in the pilot project, is the lead actor, for the other roles, the team picked US-based actors. This decision was taken due to the Covid-19 related restrictions. Neha Krishna plays the female lead, with veteran actor Subhalekha Sudhakar essaying Prince’s father. The music is composed by Abhinay TJ and the film features three songs. Sasank Vupputuri is the editor.
“People from both the Telugu states are film fanatics, with cinema being the major source of entertainment. We like to watch every film in the theatres, but the rise of technology and the growth in streaming have created a major revolution. It gives filmmakers, like me, who cannot afford to take risks, an opportunity to pursue a safe career path. OTT platforms give an opportunity to venture into mainstream cinema because even they want fresh content,” Vighnesh added.