Director Srikanth Odela on Dasara: I added commercial ingredients to a story inspired by true incidents

Dasara, the action entertainer starring Nani, Keerthy Suresh is gearing up for a theatrical release on March 30 in five languages - Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. The film marks the directorial debut of Srikanth Odela. As part of a whirlwind promotional campaign, the team interacted with the media in Hyderabad on Saturday.

“Dasara is a story revolving around a village set amidst a coal mining backdrop. The plot is not about the workers. The film is based on several true incidents in my village. You’ll realise it when you watch it in theatres - it’s something many of us would’ve experienced. I added several commercial ingredients into the story,” Srikanth Odela shared.

“We intentionally didn’t reveal much about the film in the trailer and the other promos. We didn’t want to showcase the conflict between Keerthy Suresh’s Vennela and Tom Shine Chacko’s part. Though we thought of many actors during the scripting stage, there was a point when I realised that only Nani could do justice to the role. I felt the same about Keerthy and Dheekshith as well.”

Nani took his detailing for the film so seriously, Srikanth adds. “Dharani takes short strides while he’s walking in the first hour. As he grows in confidence, he takes long strides. I was busy with the shoot and couldn’t explain these little nuances; he added depth to the character.”

He said audiences will know more about his tribute to Silk Smitha as they watch the film in theatres. While discussing his digital fame, Srikanth stated, “I don’t take my social media popularity seriously. I think audiences are going crazy because of what Nani had said about me.” He mentioned he would describe Dasara as an intense, emotional drama.

The film also stars Sai Kumar, Samuthirakani, Tom Shine Chacko, Jhansi and others and has music by Santhosh Narayanan.