On May 9, 1990,
K Raghavendra Rao
’s supernatural
fantasy
film
Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari
, starring
Chiranjeevi and
Sridevi in lead roles hit screens.
Produced by
C Ashwini Dutt
under his
Vyjayanthi Movies
banner, the film went on to become a massive hit and is considered to be a
cult classic
even today. After giving a sneak-peek of how the production house got its name, with a voice-over by
Rana Daggubati, they have now revealed the story behind the cult classic.
Sharing a video with Nani’s voice-over, the production house’s handle wrote, “3 decades, 3 stories, 1 voice. How did it all start? Here’s the story behind a film that created history. @KChiruTweets @Ragavendraraoba #Sridevi #Ilaiyaraaja @VyjayanthiFilms. https://youtu.be/cwU2u6JkEMc. #VintageVyjayanthi” (sic) In the video,
Nani explains that Ashwini Dutt had always wanted to make a fantasy film like NTR’s Jagadekha Veerudu.
He also reveals that K Raghavendra Rao’s close friend Srinivas Chakravarthy had the idea of a devakanya coming down to earth and losing her ring. After Chiranjeevi and Sridevi were brought on for the project, great writers like Yandamoori, Jandhyala, Satyamurthy, Crazy Mohan and Veerendranath too came on-board to flesh out the story, he says. Chiranjeevi too took an active part in fleshing out the story, he adds.
To keep his character Raju’s look haggard with beard when he meets Indraja, Sridevi’s character, was apparently Chiranjeevi’s idea. Sridevi on the other hand personally took an interest and got her costumes designed in Mumbai for the film. However, the video ends on a cliff-hanger with Nani stating that he’ll reveal rest of the story on May 7.