Art director AS Prakash: Sarkaru Vaari Paata is a story set against the backdrop of bank system

Mahesh Babu and Keerthy Suresh's much-awaited action entertainer Sarkaru Vaari Paata wrapped its shoot recently and the makers are leaving no stone unturned to ensure a grand release across the globe on May 12. The film is written and directed by Geetha Govindam, Solo filmmaker Parasuram Petla. The actioner is a joint production, marking a collaboration among three banners - GMB Entertainment, Mythri Movie Makers and 14 Reels Plus. As part of the film's promotional campaign, the film's art director AS Prakash was in conversation with the media recently.

Right when Parasuram narrated the story, AS Prakash was confident that it had all the trappings of a perfect commercial entertainer. This is the technician's seventh film with Mahesh Babu, the first being Dookudu. He found the atmosphere on the sets of the project quite healthy and enjoyable, thereby helping him and other technicians in the project put their best foot forward. The art director assured that the songs, action sequences in Sarkaru Vaari Paata would be a feast for audiences.

Audiences will know why the film has such a title in the very beginning of the narrative, he says. Reportedly, Sarkaru Vaari Paata is a film set against the backdrop of the bank system and required AS Prakash to come up with sets of three banks. One of them, which appears in the flashback portions, had to look like a fifty year old bank and they had erected the set with a vintage look in Annapurna Studios. The other two sets in the film are quite modern in their appeal.

Apart from the banks, Sarkaru Vaari Paata had nearly eight sets, including that of a street set. While they first wanted to shoot the street-set in Goa, a few practical problems forced the makers to shift the backdrop to a colony in Hyderabad and make it appear like a street in Vizag. A bulk of the film's shoot was held in sets and it demanded extensive efforts from the technician, both with the interiors and exterior design. "You can't make out any differences between a real location and a set because we've done it so naturally," he adds.

Sarkaru Vaari Paata is also Prakash's third film with cinematographer Madhie after Mirchi and Run Raja Run and he calls the association a pleasant one. He particularly was in awe of Mahesh Babu's deep understanding of the craft too. Next on the pipeline are a few heavyweight projects including Bholaa Shankar, Chiru's film with Bobby, NBK107 and F3, to name a few. He hopes to work in a socio-fantasy film in the times to come.