Santosh Soban’s latest film ‘Prem Kumar’ co-starring Raasi Singh and Ruchitha Sadineni, is all set to hit the screens tomorrow. Shiva Prasad Panneeru produced this film under the Sharanga Entertainment Pvt Ltd banner. Writer Abhishek Maharshi is making his debut as a director. Ahead of the release, Santosh Soban interacted with the media, and here is the transcript.
Could you tell us about the story of ‘Prem Kumar’?
We have a template-based marriage scene in the climax of our films where the hero finally convinces the heroine’s father with eye-opening dialogues and leaves with the heroine. One person was always left behind, the bridegroom who was supposed to marry that heroine. No one thinks about him. How much he spent on the marriage? How does it affect him emotionally and financially? Prem Kumar is about such bridegrooms. Thus we touched upon a point that was never told before in Prem Kumar.
Is there any inspiration for ‘Prem Kumar?
Director Abhishek told me he knows people who faced such situations. The idea behind selecting ‘Prem Kumar’ as the title is that Bollywood films made under Rajashree Productions Sooraj Barjatya are known for revolving around marriages. The lead actor’s name in those films is always ‘Prem.’ The guy named Prem Kumar is over-smart. But it doesn’t help him in any way. Finally, after taking so many risks, he gets married.
How did you recognize the director in Abhishek?
Abhishek acted in a few films. He wrote Prem Kumar after he decided to turn into a director. As a director, he believed me. I didn’t sign this project just because the character suits me. I liked it the moment I listened to it. I liked the way how Abhishek wrote the script. The dialogues will be close to reality.
You are doing films with marriage as the central theme. What about your marriage, and do you have any pressure from your family?
No, they don’t have the thought yet. They will only ask about my next film. I am getting depression seeing marriage costumes. I don’t like getting married in a grand affair. I wanted to have a simple marriage.
On not scoring a theatrical success yet?
I have worked with many good directors in my career, and I enjoyed working with them. When I question whether I chose the right scripts to date, I get “No” as an answer. But I am happy to have collaborated with Nandini mam, Gandhi Garu, and Maruthi Garu. I am hopeful that Prem Kumar will be a successful venture. My body language and dialogues will be very new in this movie.
Could you tell us about your next projects?
I will do a film under UV Creations banner. Also, I will associate with Sithara Entertainments for another project. More details about these two projects will be announced very soon.