F3 is up for a release on the 27th of this month. On this occasion, we caught up with the producer Dil Raju for a detailed interview. Here is the transcript.
When was the idea of making F3 born?
During the release of F2, Anil came up to me and said if F2 clicks, we will surely make F3. As expected, the film turned to become a hit, and here we are with F3 which will also be a big hit.
Tell us about not increasing the ticket prices for F3?
The film industry went through a lot during the pandemic. That is the reason, the producers and distributors planned for hiked rates and were also successful with films like RRR and KGF. But with time, we were also losing the family audience. As F3 is a family film, we decided that the entire family should come to the theater and for that the prices should be lowered.
Don’t you think the reduced ticket prices decision will hurt others?
Yes, it will hurt but for everything to work, there needs to be strong decision-making. At the end of the day, everyone needs to make money as so much finance is involved. We have tried something new and will closely monitor how this plan will work.
About Anil Ravipudi’s job as a director?
More than the story, he believes in the narration part. He is used to showing all the rushes of his films to me but for F3, I asked him not to. Once the final copy was ready, I watched the film and could not stop laughing. Anil has narrated the film in a way that the audience will be laughing for close to 90 minutes at the theater.
How difficult was it to handle so many actors in one film?
Yes, after a long time, a Telugu film is having so many stars. It was very difficult to handle them but Anil managed them superbly. As he was so clear with this story and narration, the rest of the cast did not have any issues and went with the flow.
Working with the likes of Venkatesh?
I have been a huge fan of his since the beginning of his career. He is a producer’s hero and always thinks about the well-being of his team. If any money is getting wasted on the sets, Venkatesh gets upset and that is his best quality.
F3 has a universal subject of money. Why not a pan-India film?
Making a pan-India film is very different and a tough task. It requires planning from a scripting level. But for F3, we did not have much time. So, we have decided to release the film in Telugu only.
Will you ever make a superhero film in your banner?
Why not. Movie making is changing with each passing day and I am in plans to make such films. But to make such films, there is a need for proper pre-production and technology. Probably, in the next two years, I will surely attempt such films.
About F4?
F4 will surely be there and Anil has also cracked the idea. But it is way too early to talk about it. For now, I want to see how this film performs at the box office.