Vijay Devarakonda has a charisma that not many can boast of. Affable and easy to chat with, the ‘Arjun Reddy’ actor was in Chennai to promote his upcoming film, ‘Dear Comrade.’
If the trailers hinted at a campus story with communism in the backdrop, Devarakonda clarified that ‘Dear Comrade’ is not a political film nor about communism but a love story.
“It is about fighting for your rights and having that comrade in life to support you, a story that can be watched in other languages too,” said Devarakonda.
This Telugu film directed by debutant Bharat Kamma has been dubbed in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada too.
The trailers show Devarakonda playing an angry young man in college, reminding one of his Arjun Reddy of the eponymous film.
“Bobby of ‘Dear Comrade’ is different from Arjun — his entire life, his background, his family and his love for Lily is different,” he added.
‘Dear Comrade’, like ‘Arjun Reddy’, was an exhaustive project due to the intensity of the roles.
“Every film changes you in some way, not only the characters you depict, but also the people who work with you,” said Devarkonda, who found himself slipping into the character by the fourth day of shoot.
Director Kamma was a collaborative director who subtly guided his actors and liked to see what the team contributes. Rashmika Mandanna, who last acted with Devarakonda in ‘Geetha Govindam’, is paired opposite him.
Her character Lily is a state-level cricket player. Mandanna trained in the game for five months. “It was hard work,” added Mandanna, an athlete in her growing years.
Justin Prabhakar has composed music. The ‘Comrade Anthem’ track in the film is sung by Devarakonda in Telugu. Vijay Sethupathi and Dulquer Salmaan have lent their voices for the Tamil and Malayalam versions.
Sujith Sarang is the DOP.
Interestingly Karan Johar after watching the film before release tweeted-‘Stunning and powerful love story! With top notch performances and exceptional music by @justin_tunes.
Johar also announced the Hindi remake of ‘Dear Comrade’ under his banner Dharma Movies.
‘Dear Comrade’, produced by Mythri Movie Makers, releases in the UAE on July 25.
