Good, bad and ugly is the tagline of the title… O Manishi Katha . Observe keenly, one will know the entire story is encapsulated in the three words. Starring Jagapati Babu and Kalyani, the film slated for release in September is the story of a man who loses his wife and also how three men react to a same situation in three different ways. It is directed by Radhaswamy, a senior sound engineer based in Mumbai who has worked with Gulzar and other people in Bollywood. Radhaswamy was the first Telugu man to direct seven Marathi films and the first Telugu man to get a Filmfare Award.
Radhaswamy reveals the subject: “After living in Mumbai for 40 years I have this urge to get recognition in Telugu field. Kalyani and Jagapati Babu make a hit pair; they have very good chemistry and will do any difficult scene in two minutes. I always wanted Jagapati Babu to play the lead and he was in dilemma whether to do it or not, though he liked the subject. There are two more characters who personify the bad and the ugly. There are only three songs but they take the story forward. Idhi Sita Leni Ramudi Katha; it’s a matured love story not for teenagers. Here, the wife is raped and she commits suicide, and the hero takes on from there. Killing is a normal, common drama, but to make the criminal repent and realise that he has done the mistake is the plot.”
The director had apparently written the story when he was studying at the FTII in 1966; and asserts the story is not outdated even now. He says that when he showed the first copy to K Vishwanath with whom he worked for Eeswar and Sanjog, the latter heaped praise on it. He also says there is an undeniable influence of Gulzar on him and explains, “The dialogues are limited yet powerful and I believe that only when visuals fail to communicate, , dialogues should be used.”
Speaking of his own life in films, he says, “I’m a self-made man and learnt direction by observing. Those days people who worked on sound recording had to be on the sets throughout the film; even I learnt it that way.”
Radhaswamy finished O Manishi Katha in 14 days, an example of perfect planning. Though Jagapati Babu is in demand as a villain right now, he returns as a family hero here. The director sums up the project as a complicated film with a commercial approach.
