Vaisshnav Tej & Rakul Preet Singh: The audience will fall in love with the world of Konda Polam

Author-backed roles are hard to come by in Telugu cinema but actors Vaisshnav Tej and Rakul Preet Singh believe they have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Krish’s Konda Polam. Based on the novel Kondapolam penned by Sannapureddi Venkata Ramireddy, the coming-of-age film is the story of Ravi and Obulamma, who belong to the shepherd community of Nallamala forest.“Ravi is a relatable, UPSC aspirant who realises just how much the forest has given to him since birth,” explains Vaisshnav, adding, “Now he wants to give back by becoming an IFS officer and protecting his home. He gets accustomed to mending cattle, facing his fears and rising to the occasion.”
Produced by Y Rajeev Reddy and Jagarlamudi Sai Babu under First Frame Entertainments banner, Konda Polam releases today. “Stories like these are hard to come by and Krish’s direction is truly amazing. At the same time, Konda Polam also has commericial elements and beautiful songs by MM Keeravani that will connect with the mass audience,” Vaisshnav adds.
While Vaisshnav is delighted with his character arc in the film, Rakul says it’s refreshing to play the role of a village belle. “Krish has sketched the most unique character of a woman who is calm yet fierce, and I’m glad he picked me for this,” says Rakul, adding, “We put in a lot of effort to get my look just right for this film and I even learnt the local dialect to get under the skin of my character.”
While walking on the hilly terrain in a langa voni is not as easy as it seems, Rakul says she soon got used to it. “Vaisshnav and I even learnt to control the hundreds of sheep we used in the film because it was required of our characters. After staying home due to the pandemic, acting in the jungle was exciting. I’m sure the audience will fall in love with the world of Konda Polam and Obulamma as much as I did because it’s a magical one,” she adds.