‘Kannappa’ will have a huge impact on Indian cinema – Actor Vishnu Manju confirms
No matter how many problems we face, Lord Shiva is with us – Vishnu Manju’s resilient speech at the ‘Kannappa’ festival
‘Kannappa’ gave me a different experience – Actress Madhubala is happy
‘They treated me on par with big stars like Sarathkumar and Madhubala – Actor Sampathram Urukam at the ‘Kannappa’ festival
‘The film made me realize that it was right to act in the film ‘Kannappa’ without asking anything – Actress Madhubala is happy speech
‘Kannappa’s heart drive containing scenes from the film was stolen – Vishnu Manju explains at the ‘Kannappa’ festival
‘Kannappa’s post-mortem scenes to be screened! – Journalists praise Vishnu Manju
‘Kannappa’, a grand work written, produced and acted by leading Telugu actor Vishnu Manju, has emerged as one of the most anticipated films in India. The film, which stars Prabhas, Mohanlal, Akshay Kumar, Sarathkumar and many other leading stars of Indian cinema, is directed by Mukesh Kumar Singh.
An event to screen special scenes of the film ‘Kannappa’, which will be released in theaters worldwide in many languages on June 27, was held at Prasad Label in Chennai today (May 30). Vishnu Manju, Madhubala, director Mukesh Kumar Singh, and film editor Antony and other film crew participated in this.
Journalists who saw the post-mortem scenes of the film Kannappa highly praised the film crew including actor Vishnu Manju. In particular, the scenes shot in New Zealand are very grand and are locations that have not been shown in any Indian film so far. The fact that the scenes have been shot in such locations, rather than telling the story entirely through graphics, will definitely attract the fans, the journalists praised.
Speaking on the occasion, second unit cinematographer Siddharth said, “Hello everyone, the cinematographer of this film is Sheldon, he has come from America. I have worked as a second unit. Because, it is for my brother Vishnu. He is the one who introduced me as a cinematographer in Telugu cinema. I have worked as a cinematographer for five of his films, I will do anything for him. I am speaking for Sheldon, he immediately adapted to our work. He can work very fast. If we were able to complete such a film quickly, it is because of Sheldon, my congratulations to him. Vishnu sir has taken a new avatar with this film. He has taken an avatar not only as an actor but also as a storyteller, he should achieve great success. My congratulations to director Mukesh Kumar Singh. Thank you.” Film editor Antony said, “I thank Vishnu sir for trusting me and handing over this film to me. Mukesh sir and Vishnu sir trusted me and left me in a separate room. They told me to work with all the resources of the film, and that resources were not for one film, but for six films. It was a very difficult task. I was very disappointed. But the film turned out very well. Everyone has acted well. Thank you Mohan Babu sir. It is like I have found a family through this film. I know this film will be a great film, you will know on the 27th, thank you.” Actor Sampathram said, “Although I was born and raised in the old Washermanpettai area of Chennai, my hometown is a village called Manelloor near Gummidipoondi. That is where my grandfather and father were born. My grandmother’s hometown is a village called Kattupalli near Kalahastri. We often go there on vacation. Since I had to go there, I know Telugu. My father’s close friend is Srinivasan. His son and I are very close friends. His name is Kola Anand. He is currently in an important position in a political party, and I would say that it was through him that I got the opportunity to act in this film. In 2022, the shooting of Mohan Babu sir was going on near Kalahastri railway station. At that time, Anand took me and introduced me to Mohan Babu sir and said that my uncle’s son is acting in Tamil, give me some opportunity in Telugu. After that, Vishnu sir gave me a small role in his debut film Vishnu. This was my first time acting in a Telugu film. Then this role was very small, and other He said that we would see each other in some film. After that, after about 6 years, I got an opportunity to act in a film called ‘Gayatri’. I went to the shooting site to act in that film, when Mohan Babu sir arrived there, everyone went to greet him, he chased everyone away by saying, ‘Go away, go away’, and he chased me away as well. It became a bit difficult for me. What is this?
It seemed like they had driven us away like this. Then, when the master was shooting a fight scene, when he said, Sampath, do this, do that, Mohan Babu sir immediately asked, “Hey Sampath, come here…, you’re not wearing a beard, I didn’t know…,” he immediately called the people there, there must have been about 200 people, called everyone and said, “This is a close relative of my very close friend, I behaved a little wrongly towards him, for that I apologize,” and said, “Sarita Sampath.” I will never forget that incident, I was so shocked. I am not a person at all, it was a big shock for me that such a great man apologized to me. He is such a very good man. I would be sad if any wrong information comes about him. It would be difficult for me to think why such a good person is being talked about like this. He gave me the salary that I did not earn in the cinema in that film and sent it to me. After that, he himself called me for the film ‘Kannappa’. He asked if there was a date for the shooting of the next film in New Zealand. Sir, you I acted in this film saying that I will come if you tell me. They have given me a big role in it. I think I got this opportunity through that Kalahastri Shiva. Thanks to Vishnu sir, he has supported me and made me act well. He took good care of me in New Zealand. He treated me on a par with Sarathkumar sir and Madhubala madam, thank you very much sir. This film has come on a big scale, it will definitely attract people a lot. I wish the film a big success, thank you.” He said. Actor Arpit Rana said, “Hello everyone, ‘Kannapa’ is not just a film, it is a feeling for everyone. I am a big devotee of Mahadev, this film is a film that is closely related to me. Vishnu sir has made this film in a very grand way. This film will amaze all Shiva devotees, that much the film has come out very well. I know a little Tamil, Chennai is my second place, many of my relatives live here. I have a close relationship with Chennai. Thank you Vishnu sir and Mukesh sir for giving me this opportunity.” He said.
Director Mukesh Kumar Singh said, “Tamil Nadu is my second home. There are many temples here. It is a joy to come back here and stand before you for the film ‘Kannappa’. I thank our producers Mohan Babu sir and Vishnu. The film ‘Kannappa’ taught me a lot in the journey of life. Not only for me, but for everyone here, Kannappa was a great journey. All films have difficulties, and similarly, we faced many problems in the film Kannappa. But, Lord Shiva took care of all of them. We have made the film Kannappa a great creation. Thank you to Lord Shiva. Thank you to all of you.”
Actress Madhubala said, “Hello everyone, I think I have a lot to say, but I can’t say anything. That’s how I am. Lord Shiva chose me to do this film, Vishnu sir said in an interview. I am the same way. I wanted to act at a young age. I came to act without thinking about who I should act in, how my introduction should be, and without knowing anything. When it comes to how I should make my debut as an actress, big directors would tell me my name, but I didn’t say anything like that, I came to act only with the thought that I should appear on screen in some film, no matter who the director is. I came to act without asking anything whether it was an A great film, a B great film, a good film, a bad film. That’s how the opportunity for this film came about. When I got the call for this film, I immediately said yes. I didn’t ask anything about the character or the story, I immediately agreed. When I watch the film today, I feel that I was right to say okay without asking anything for the second time. In the films I have acted so far, with whom will I act, I have been acting without knowing any details. I acted in this film as well. I am happy to have acted in it. I was very happy when I saw my character on screen. When I came to act in this film, Mohan Babu sir asked me why I gave him two chances in the 90s and why he did not act with me. Now that I have acted in his film too, I cannot ask why he did not act. Similarly, I have acted with Mohanlal after 35 years. I have acted in many Akshay Kumar films as well, and I am happy to have acted with him in this film.
I have gained great friendship through this film. It is a pleasure to travel with Vishnu. Vishnu Manju has contributed well as a story writer, producer and Kannappa. Director Mukesh
Kumar Singh is very calm, his work is very good. The cinematography is good. Everyone including actor Sampath has done a great job. I was happy to work with this great crew. I think you will be amazed after watching the scenes of this film. I believe the film will also amaze people.
I have the image of a young mother, now the film Kannappa has broken that image and created a new image of a warrior. I played that character very happily. We have many angers towards many people, but we cannot express that anger. In this film, I got an opportunity to express my anger in the fight scene. When they gave me that knife and asked me to fight, I beat everyone who came in front of me and killed them. It was a pleasure to play such a character. The only difficulty I had while playing this character was lifting that heavy knife. I would dress up as a warrior and carry it majestically, but when I was given the knife in my hand, I could not bear its weight. My hand hurts, that was the only difficulty, otherwise I was happy with my role, it was a new experience to play such a role. The fans will also feel it when they see it on screen, thank you.” He said. Hero Vishnu Manju said, “You know that there have been some controversial incidents recently. I don’t want to talk about that here. At the same time, I want to clarify what happened. Kannappa has become a huge work. The graphics work of the film is going on all over the world. The work is going on in London and Dubai and 8 places in India. Usually, two copies of the drive containing the scenes of the film are taken. One is sent to the editing studio and the other to the production office, this is our custom. Accordingly, while the graphics work was going on, some of its scenes were sent through the drive. But our side did not ask for it. The graphics company sent it to our address. That is, there are two, our company address and the GST address. The GST address is my father’s house. That’s where all our related letters and couriers come. The people concerned will go there and get them. Similarly, the drive for me has arrived at that address. At that time, it is said that two people from Manoj’s house bought the courier. We were not aware of this. Then, two weeks later, an X-ray recording was released saying that the scenes of the film Kannappa were leaked, but what will happen? It was through that that it was revealed that the drive containing our scenes had changed hands. Well, I thought we shouldn’t exaggerate this, we asked for it in a friendly manner, but we didn’t get a proper answer. Well, we thought we could ask for it in a friendly manner through the police, and we did that too. Even then, we didn’t get a proper answer. The police also said that we cannot investigate without filing a proper FIR. Even then, I did not share this information with the media. When I filed a complaint with the police, it was only through a reporter who was there that it became news. Then when I asked my father what to do, there was no other option, and we had to register an FIR. Now we have registered an FIR. The police are conducting an investigation. Even if those scenes are released, my request is that the fans should reject them. The reason is that there is the hard work of hundreds of people in it. My wish is that you should come and see that hard work on the screen. That is why I have worked so hard. This is the problem. I do not want to talk about family problems. All families have problems. It will be fixed. What is the problem with my brother till today, why is he like this?
[31/05, 17:32] Flowing Fizz: I think I got the opportunity. Thanks to Vishnu sir, he has supported me and made me act well. He took good care of me in New Zealand. He treated me on a par with Sarathkumar sir and Madhubala madam, thank you very much sir. This film has come on a huge scale, it will definitely attract people a lot. I wish the film a big success, thank you.” He said.
Actor Arpit Rana said, “Hello everyone, ‘Kannapa’ is not just a film, it is a feeling for everyone. I am a big devotee of Mahadev, this film is a film that is closely related to me. Vishnu sir has shot this film in a very grand manner. This film will amaze all Shiva devotees, that much the film has come out very well. I know a little Tamil, Chennai is my second place, many of my relatives live here. I have a close relationship with Chennai. I thank Vishnu sir and Mukesh sir for giving me this opportunity.” He said.
Director Mukesh Kumar Singh said, “Tamil Nadu is my second home. There are many temples here. It is a pleasure to come back here and stand before you for the film ‘Kannappa’. I thank our producer Mohan Babu sir and Vishnu. The film ‘Kannappa’ taught me many things in my life journey. Not only for me, but for everyone here, Kannappa was a great journey. All films have difficulties, and similarly, we faced many problems in the film Kannappa. But, God Shiva took care of all of them. We have made the film Kannappa a great work. Thank you to God Shiva. Thank you to all of you.” He said. Actress Madhubala, speaking, “Hello everyone, I think I have to say a lot of things, but I am unable to say anything. That is the situation I am in. Vishnu sir said in an interview that it was Shiva who chose me to do this film. I am the same way. I wanted to act at a young age. I came to act without thinking about who should act in the film, how the introduction should be, and without knowing anything. When it comes to how to make an actress debut, big directors will tell you their names, but I didn’t say anything like that, I came to act only with the idea that I want to appear on screen in a film, no matter who the director is. I came to act without asking whether it was an A-great film, a B-great film, a good film, a bad film. That’s how the opportunity for this film came about. When I got the call for this film, I immediately said yes. I didn’t ask anything about what the character was, what the story was, I immediately agreed, and when I watch the film today, I think it was right to say okay without asking anything for the second time. I have acted in films I have acted in so far without knowing any details about who I would be acting with. I acted in this film as well. I am happy to act in it. I was very happy when I saw my character on screen. When I came to act in this film, Mohan Babu sir asked me why I had given him two offers in the 90s and why he didn’t act with me. Now that he has acted in the film as well, I can’t ask why he didn’t act. Similarly, I have acted with Mohanlal after 35 years. I have acted in many Akshay Kumar films as well, and I am happy to act with him in this film.
I have gained great friendship through this film. It is a pleasure to travel with Vishnu. Vishnu Manju has contributed well as a storyteller, producer and Kannappa. Director Mukesh Kumar Singh is very calm, his work is very good. The cinematography is good. Everyone including actor Sampath has worked well. I was happy to work with this excellent crew. I think you will be surprised after seeing the scenes of this film. I believe the film will also surprise people.
I have the image of a young mother, now the film Kannappa has broken that image and created a new image of a warrior. I played that character very happily. We have many angers towards many people, but we cannot express that anger. In this film, I got an opportunity to express my anger in the fight scene. When they gave me that knife and asked me to strike, I beat everyone in front of me and made a mess of it. It was a pleasure to play such a character. The only difficulty I had while playing this character was lifting that heavy knife. I would dress up as a warrior and carry it majestically, but when I was given the knife in my hand, I couldn’t bear its weight. My hand would hurt, that was the only difficulty, otherwise I was happy playing my character, it was a new experience to play such a character.
The fans will also feel it when they watch it, thank you.” He said. Hero Vishnu Manju said, “You know that there have been some controversial incidents recently. I don’t want to talk about that here. At the same time, I want to clarify what happened. Kannappa has become a huge work. The graphics work of the film is going on all over the world. The work is going on in London and Dubai and 8 locations in India. Usually, two copies of the drive containing the scenes of the film are taken. One is sent to the editing studio and the other to the production office, this is our custom. Accordingly, while the graphics work was going on, some of its scenes were sent through the drive. But, our side did not ask for it. The graphics company sent it to our address. That is, we have two addresses, our company address and GST address. The GST address is my father’s house. That is where all our related letters and couriers will come. Those concerned will go there and get it. Similarly, the drive for me has arrived at that address. At that time, it is said that two people from Manoj’s house bought the courier. We were not aware of this. At that time, two weeks later, an X-ray recording was released saying, “What will happen if the scenes of the film Kannappa are leaked?” It was through that that it was revealed that the drive containing our scenes had changed hands. Well, I thought we shouldn’t exaggerate this, we asked for it in a friendly manner, but we didn’t get a proper answer. Well, we thought we could ask for it in a friendly manner through the police, and we did that too. Even then, we didn’t get a proper answer. The police also said that we cannot investigate without filing a proper FIR. Even then, I did not share this information with the media. When I filed a complaint with the police, it was only through a reporter who was there that it became news. Then when I asked my father what to do, there was no other option, and it became necessary to register an FIR. Now we have registered an FIR. The police are investigating. My request is that even if those scenes are released, the fans should reject it. The reason is that it involves the work of hundreds of people. My wish is that you should see that work on screen. That is why I have worked so hard. This is the problem. I do not want to talk about family problems. All families have problems. It will be fixed. Till today, I do not know what is wrong with my brother and why he is doing this. If I find out, I will definitely try to fix it.
Regarding the film ‘Kannappa’, it will be a very different and grand film from the films that have been made about Kannappa so far. Especially, all the films have shown what happened to Kannappa after he became a devotee of Shiva. But, what was his life like before he became a devotee of Shiva? We will see in this film what his life was like before he became a devotee of Shiva. We have made the film so grand that it can be seen as a visual treat and not as an ordinary film. Kannappa will definitely have a huge impact on Indian cinema.
Many questions may arise regarding the film, but we have only shot what history and legends say. The censor board is going to ask a lot of questions, especially saying that Kannappa taking water in his mouth and anointing the lingam is unacceptable, they say it would not be acceptable in North India. But, that is actually the case, we have captured the truth as a scene, I argued. The bigger issue is that after watching the love song, they ask, did Kannappa love her? I explained that Shiva and Parvati did not love each other, the love between them is the same, Kannappa also has it. The censor board is going to ask many such questions, I do not know how I will explain it to them and get the film certified. I am confident that Shiva will take care of everything. I am confident that the film is made for him, he will definitely break all the barriers.” He said.
The film has cinematography by Sheldon Sau and music by Stephen Devasi. Antony has edited the film. ‘Kannappa’, produced by Mohan Babu under the banner of 24 Frames Factory and AVA Entertainment, will be released in theaters worldwide on June 27 in multiple languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.
