Director Chandoo Mondeti: Karthikeya 2 discusses the idea of devotion and also emphasises reasoning

Chandoo Mondeti, who entered the industry with Karthikeya, is back in action with the film’s sequel, the fourth project in his career. Karthikeya 2 starring Nikhil Siddhartha, Anupama Parameswaran in the lead, is set to hit theatres on August 13. The film is a mystical adventure jointly produced by T Vishwa Prasad and Abhishek Agarwal under People Media Factory and Abhishek Agarwal Arts in collaboration with Zee Studios. Ahead of the film’s release, the director spoke to the media today.

He’s genuinely surprised that audiences are still keen on Karthikeya 2 despite the regular postponements. “The premise, the idea of adventure, devotion and thrills in the same film may be one of the reasons for the curiosity. The trailer has received a fantastic response from audiences. Of course, the fact that this is the sequel to Karthikeya is the main reason. The expectations out of a sequel are very high, I and my team readied the script keeping all that in mind,” he said.

The story of Karthikeya 2 struck him many years ago and he shared it immediately with Nikhil. Adventure was something that always fascinated the storyteller as a child. “I grew up listening to stories of epics. I always wondered how it would be to blend the contemporary world and mythology in one story. There are scientific reasons behind various aspects of the epics. The film is an adventurous journey, highlights the essence of Lord Krishna, the idea of karma siddhantham,” Chandoo shared.

Karthikeya 2 is only a thematic sequel to the earlier film and won’t require a viewer to watch the prequel.”The story works best when Karthikeya is the protagonist - his characterisation is the only similarity between both the parts, more like Sanjay Dutt in Munnabhai MBBS and Lage Raho Munnabhai. We’ve defined the idea of devotion in the film. The film talks of the importance of reasoning while discussing devotion.”

“It’s important to use common sense in life. For instance, copper coins were thrown into water bodies to make them purer many years ago. It’s not practical to follow that now,” he added. The team roped in a fresh cast because the film is largely set in Dwaraka, where the characters from the prequel wouldn’t be present. Karthikeya 2 was made under several budgetary limitations, but Chandoo credits his team for doing enough homework and not let the quality suffer.

Anupam Kher’s character comes in the film when the story progresses in the Himalayas. “We thought that an actor of his stature would suit well for the backdrop. And of course, his presence will help us reach more audiences in the Hindi version. Despite the brief role, I’m confident that his scenes will get many talking.” Beyond Dwaraka, the film shares no similarity with Devi Puthrudu, Chandoo clarified.

The CG/VFX portions in the film are tricky and we had to work harder to make it look closer to reality, the filmmaker said. “Producers were very confident with the story and tension-free, they are happy. We’re sure about the film and are getting a good release. I want audiences across all age groups to watch it.” Stating that he’s content with his career, he mentioned that he doesn’t react extremely to success or failure. Chandoo Mondeti’s next is with Geetha Arts - a social drama. “I don’t want to be reduced to a single genre. I want to make an out-and-out entertainer like Jandhyala or Sreenu Vaitla sometime too.”