“Gurram Paapireddy” has a strong story at its core, and every scene moves forward in a fun zone, making the audience laugh: Naresh Agastya

Starring Naresh Agastya and Faria Abdullah as the lead pair, “Gurram Paapireddy” is being presented by Dr. Sandhya Goli and produced by Venu Saddi, Amar Bura, and Jayakanth (Bobby). Directed by Murali Manohar, the film is a dark comedy based on a completely new concept that hasn’t been seen on screen before. “Gurram Paapireddy” is set for a worldwide grand theatrical release on the 19th of this month. In an interview held today, Naresh Agastya spoke about the highlights of the film.

“I have never done a film like this before. In my earlier movies, my characters were usually settled and calm. In ‘Gurram Paapireddy’, my character is more energetic and takes the lead. I really liked the story when director Murali Manohar narrated it. After that, we traveled for nearly a year for the project work. During promotions, Tejaswini, the heroine of Raju Weds Rambai, accidentally called our film ‘Gedela Paapireddy’ instead of ‘Gurram Paapireddy’. Even though it was a wrong title, it went viral and helped more people get to know about our movie.”

“In the film, I come with a specific purpose. To accomplish it, I need a few people I know who are not very intelligent. I select those who I can manage even if they question me. What exactly my mission is has not been revealed even in the trailer. We are on a hunt for a dead body. Whose body it is and why it matters is the main point of the story.”

“The storyline revolves around what happens when intelligent people behave foolishly, and when foolish people act intelligently, and how those situations affect their lives. We’ve had dark comedy films in the past, but they were never labeled as dark comedies. When someone is in trouble, they feel pain, but the same situation makes others laugh – that’s dark comedy. In this film, the characters go through hardships, but those situations turn into entertainment for the audience. The entire movie moves in a fun zone. Though every scene has comedy, there is a strong story running underneath. The audience will be shocked at the interval.”

“Our producers made this film without any compromise. Especially Amar garu ensured that even when the budget increased, the quality was never reduced. We waited specifically for Yogi Babu. I don’t have combination scenes with Brahmanandam garu, but I do share scenes with Yogi Babu. He is extremely friendly. He even took me around Ramoji Film City on his bike and clicked selfies, saying these moments would be memories for him. That made me very happy.”

“No matter how good the script is, you need the right artists to perform it. In our film, Faria Abdullah, Rajkumar Kasireddy, and Vamsidhar delivered excellent comedy timing. Acting alongside them was a great experience for me as well. We worked in a very friendly atmosphere, discussing scenes and performing together. Krishna Saurabh has composed very good songs for the film, and even the promotional song is receiving a strong response.”

“A film must reach people through its trailer and teaser first; after that, the audience should carry it forward. Our trailer is getting a very good response. Since I acted in it, I can’t judge it myself, but everyone who watched it says it’s good. People who worked on the film are confident it will be a hit. We are having premieres tomorrow. I haven’t watched the full film yet, and I’m eagerly waiting to see the audience’s response after the screening.”

“I love traveling, and I also practice free diving. That means taking a single breath and diving as deep as possible into the sea. I once went down to a depth of 80 feet for 3 minutes and 40 seconds.”

“In my view, a commercial film is one that can engage the audience even without songs or fights. It should have sensible elements and be appealing to viewers. None of my films so far have been purely commercial. If I had done one, it might have reached a wider audience. I am doing such a film next year, and I have high hopes for it. We have already completed 70 percent of its shoot. I want to do films with new concepts. Shooting that film in the Sahara Desert was a completely new experience for me. Projects like Vikatakavi and Senapathi mostly reached audiences through OTT platforms. Perhaps my earlier films didn’t reach audiences due to limited promotions. I have never promoted any of my films as extensively as I have done for ‘Gurram Paapireddy’.”