Director Tharun Bhascker describes 'Keedaa Cola' as an honest crime comedy with naturalistic performances. In this interview, the 'Pelli Choopulu' maker says that he genuinely wants to make people laugh and that the characters in his latest film were born of his angst.
The talented filmmaker suggests that, despite a disabled character and a character suffering from a syndrome, the humour in 'Keedaa Cola' doesn't have insensitive comedy. He is apparently conscious of the Woke-ism that detests improper 'comedy'.
During the covid-induced lockdown in 2020, it was amusing to see people resorting to all sorts of shortcuts to make ends meet. Someone made a quick buck by selling the iron lid on a manhole. The obvious description of such acts is 'offense'. If you see such things from a distance, they are comical.
I have always been inspired by the genre of comedy I saw in 'Money Money' and 'Jigarthanda' (Tamil). I have always been a fan of crime comedies. In fact, a rom-com like 'Pelli Choopulu' was never my thing. 'Keedaa Cola' has been made with cinematic liberty as the dominant theme.
'Keedaa' can mean an insect or an obsession. The insect in a cola bottle in this film is a metaphor. The film's running time is just 120 minutes. There is no lag anywhere. The nature of crime comedy is that it has to be pacy.
They say that writing is like a therapy. It is a healing process, they say. When I wrote 'Pelli Choopulu', it was actually stressful. But writing the character Naidu in 'Keedaa Cola' was relieving. It was like unburdening myself. There is a Naidu in me. That's what gets reflected in the character. In fact, there is a bit of me in every character in this film.
There are eight primary characters in 'Keedaa Cola' but you wouldn't be able to figure out who is the protagonist.
Brahmanandam garu doing a film like 'Keedaa Cola' with a relatively new director like me was not a foregone conclusion. I have always known his son, Gautham, who told me his father wouldn't mind working with me (if he loves the script/character). I wrote his character inspired by my grandfather, who once gifted me and my brother a vodka bottle with glee. No grandfather would do that!
'Pelli Choopulu' winning a National Award was actually burdensome. To relieve myself of it, I did a light film like 'Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi'. I and producer Suresh Babu garu knew that 'ENE' wouldn't be a hit of the range of my previous film. We did that film with the conviction that it will surely recover its investment. That's what happened.
Cinema always influences individuals (both negatively and positively). I once came across a cabbie who told me he never lets his wife do a job fearing that she might enter into an extra-marital relationship with a male colleague. He told me he picked up this suspicion from a movie he had watched. As a filmmaker, I don't like glorifying vices. In 'ENE', the alcoholic protagonist has a coming-of-age arc. (Tharun hinted that 'Keedaa Cola' also has a redemption arc and that it doesn't glorify criminal activities in the name of comedy).
The hyper-competitive world is making us mentally depressed. 'Keedaa Cola' owes its origin to my angst about the ways of the world. You won't find lazy humour in the film. Nobody is going to say it is bad. At worst, they might say it is an okay film.
Anybody can act! If you overcome fear and if you are not conscious in front of the camera, you can be an actor. I want my actors to be natural. I have always auditioned artists for my characters (with some exceptions like Brahmanandam for this movie).
When you write a character with empathy, profoundness will kick in. Even when you are writing a psycho killer's character, you have to go to the bottom of his psyche.
