Exclusive! Producer Sudhakar Cherukuri reveals what convinced him to make Nani, Keerthy Suresh starrer Dasara on a huge budget

When actor Nani said that his upcoming action entertainer Dasara would be the most expensive film in his career and would be made at a budget over Rs 60 crore, it had many wondering why such huge money was being invested in a film made by a first-time director like Srikanth Odela. The film set amid a coal-mine backdrop in the Godavari region, starring Nani, Keerthy Suresh, Zarina Wahab and others in lead roles, has music by Santosh Narayanan. In a recent conversation with OTTplay.com, Dasara's producer Sudhakar Cherukuri shared interesting details about the actioner.

"With Dasara, audiences will get everything that they expect from a film starring Nani, be it performance, story or the scale in which it is made. Crowds will get to see a new Nani in Dasara in terms of characterisation. The village set that we had erected for the film itself had cost us Rs 10 crore. A part of the film will be shot in Madhya Pradesh and Godavari region later," he said. 

What convinced him to go ahead with such a budget with a debutant? What gives him confidence? "Srikanth is a very talented director and we liked the story immensely within his first narration itself. He told us not to fear about investing such huge money for a first-time filmmaker and asked us to give him a certain budget so that he could shoot a few portions to gain the confidence of the team."

Srikanth Odela had shot half-an-hour long footage in about three or four days, roping in a bunch of character artists and shot a few scenes from the film suggested by Nani. "Once he showed us the rushes, we had no second thoughts and we were thoroughly impressed. We okayed the film immediately later. The shoot got pushed a little owing to COVID-19," the producer added. It's good to know the confidence that Sudhakar Cherukuri has in Dasara and if the film turns out to be successful, it's certain to convince more producers to take courageous decisions regarding their story selection.