Quirky characters are the USP of Shailaja Reddy Alludu

Director Maruthi’s knack for pulling off entertaining films with quirky premises shone through once again with

Shailaja Reddy Alludu

. The quirky characterisations of the family entertainer have become the talk of T-town. The story revolves around the travails of the protagonist, Chaitanya, who becomes the son-in-law of the domineering matriarch Shailaja Reddy. “The atta-alludu trope is something we used to pull the crowd. Essentially, the film revolves around the humourous travails of an ordinary boy who becomes the son-in-law of a powerful woman. It’s the egoistic characters that create much of the humour — Chaitanya’s dad (Murali Sharma) who’s swayed by financial status, the supremely proud Shailaja Reddy, who takes her role as protector of a family way too seriously and her equally head strong daughter, Anu. How Chaitanya appeases them all forms the crux of the story,” says Maruthi, adding, “Not many have tapped Naga Chaitanya’s comic timing well before. The scenes between him and Vennela Kishore in particular are just hilarious. We were sure they would bring out the best in each other.”

Anu Emmanuel and Ramya too were spot on with their comic timing as the mom and daughter who wouldn’t talk to each other. “I know a lot of people who don’t directly communicate, but take digs at each other through a middle person. I thought it would be a new and funny way to show disturbance between a mother and a daughter. How Prudhvi finds himself playing the ice-breaker and a messenger between the two, will make you laugh out loud,” explains Maruthi.

Talking about how he got the ensemble cast to bring their funny side to the fore, Maruthi says, “I create characters according to the strengths of actors; for some, it’s their physical appearance and for others it’s the way they speak and behave. The objective is simple — to make people laugh.”

Naresh, who plays Shailaja Reddy’s henpecked hubby, nods in agreement, saying, “Maruthi is a rare director who not only gives us roles according to our strengths, but also gives actors the freedom to bring a bit of themselves into the role. I particularly enjoyed my scenes with Prudhvi. Incidentally audiences have liked them the most too. The film is a vindu bhojanam in a true sense.”

Produced by Naga Vamshi and PDV Prasad, presented by S Radha Krishna (Chinna Babu) under Sithara Entertainments, Shailaja Reddy Alludu is running in theatres.