Y.Sunita Chowdhary
Director Anil Kumar Aalla’s debut film Kalyanam Kamaneeyam is releasing this Pongal. It is an after marriage story. Usually a husband and wife relationship suffers due to ego issues but here in this story you won’t find such a thing. The situations drive them into a state of quandary and confusion. How did the couple face it and what did they learn from it is the story. The issues are more personal. Also how the society passes comments on a jobless husband and a working wife becomes a point of discussion. Generally in such situations self respect, ego etc crop up but the director reiterates such a thing is totally absent.
This society has households that have to be run by both the husband and wife otherwise it is difficult to keep the kitchen fires burning. There are situations where relatives, friends, guests pass unsolicited suggestions and comments on the unemployed young man. Neither does the man sit idle, he does something or the other but no proper job as such. It isn’t that he prefers to sit at home doing nothing and even the wife would want him to be busy and employed. But the beauty of this relationship is that nothing on their own drives them to be in a conflicting situation.
Did Anil include any of his experiences from his marriage in the film? “I am married, got hitched when I was 23. I did draw something from my marriage to be weaved into the story. When I narrated a few incidents to the people I know, they said they too went through all this. This relatability factor will spell success for the movie. In many love marriages there are ego games, pride comes first; for example in films that have Jagapathi Babu and Priyamani raised questions like who holds the one upmanship in the house but this love story has none. It is a universal issue, a Pan Indian story where people from all strata of society relate to the situations. My friend was instrumental in taking this project to UV Creations. I gave many narrations and all those who heard loved it, ” says the director.
He further states, “Towards the end of the film, there is a message that is very subtle and not preachy. Kalyanam Kamaneeyam says “don’t worry and get married.” Anil Kumar finished his academics and like any other typical Telugu student is a movie aficionado. A native of Guntur, Anil even while studying nurtured an ambition to pursue a career in the film industry. Luckily for him, his father gave him all the support to take it up. The director is the third child in the film and after his sisters got married, he plunged into cinema full throttle. He didn’t struggle much but was a quick learner, learnt to write stories and cinematic grammar. Once done, he was brimming with confidence and began trials to narrate a story. Maruduri Raja, dialogue writer who is close to him initially helped him with suggestions on the basics and refining of the script.
“Cinema is never a one man job, it is a collaboration. First time directors have to write on their own and once that is done, they can find a few people who can assist them”, he says. Anil earlier worked in Tungabhadra and Jyo Achyutananda. He is happy that the film is releasing during Sankranthi because that is the time when people will flock to the theatres. He states he too is a fan of both Chiranjeevi and Balaiyya Babu and will see their films on the first day. Kalyanam Kamaneeyam has Kartik Ghattamneni as the cinematographer and music director is DShravan Bharadwaj who has done Malli Raava and Prema Ishq Kadal.
